“No… no, nuh uh. I ain’t going back to the military, one war was enough for me! There’s nothing in this world you could say or give me that could change my mind on this one Damion!” Dylan’s refusal was made plainly obvious from the moment both Damion and Izumi stepped into his new place of work, which happened to be his original trade before the war… which was to say he was a mechanic, and a damn good one at that.
As Dylan made his stance quite clear on the matter, he did his best to keep his face buried deep in his work, trying to focus on what was going to make him money more than the two government officials standing in his shop. Damion however just smiled shaking his head lightly as he slipped his gloved hands into his dress coat pockets.
“Bet you one grand I can convince you to join.” Damion offered, a shit eating grin now spread across his face.
Izumi rolled her eyes laughing before she rested her hand on Damion’s shoulder. “I’m going to get coffee, while you two talk business.” And no sooner had the words left her lips did she twist about giving the two a nice wave, “I’ll be back in a few minutes!”
Then the two men were left alone in the shop as the winter air continued to blow in through the bay doors. Dylan, despite wearing a thin pair of overalls just ignored the biting cold that pierced through the light clothing. It was always an impressive sight to see how Dylan could just shrug off such weather conditions. But right now wasn’t the time to be jealous of his friend’s natural tolerance to the cold as he walked up to the side of car the smug grin still plastered across his face.
Dylan sighed lightly, letting his hands come to rest on the frame of the car before pushing himself back to look Damion in the face. “Alright, fine. Let’s see how you can bring me over to this new unit of yours.” He relented, folding his arms over his chest as he waited impatiently for Damion.
Still smiling he pulled out a small cheque book from his coat pocket followed by a small pen, before suddenly filling out the first cheque in the book. Ripping it off, he handed it to Dylan who didn’t hesitate for a moment to take the piece of paper.
“You know the government pay is sh- holy shit!” Dylan paused half way before his sudden surprise at the amount being promised to him became evident. “… So… who’s ass are we kicking this time?... sir.” Dylan asked now smiling.
“Glad to have you back, Warrant Officer Smith. And the asses we’ll be kicking are none other than our friends the PA. Seems they didn’t take to kindly to losing us North American’s… and needless to say, there are a few other nations who are planning on leaving soon as well, and it’s up to us to ensure they can leave with peace of mind… no matter what might be thrown our way… like, say maybe, Demons?” Damion said, making the last bit sound more like sarcasm than actual fact.
Dylan just shrugged it off however with a small wave of his hand. “Demons or men doesn’t matter. After all the shit I’ve seen in the last two wars we’ve been in… they’re basically rated the same in my book.” Then as soon as the words left his lips, he scratched the back of his head sighing as he noticed Damion’s smile soon fade, knowing full well that the past wars were still a sensitive subject for the two men.
Damion just stood silent for a moment before mentally shaking his head, dismissing all thoughts of the past wars from his head, before reminding himself of his duty at the moment. “Well, so long as you’re ready to see some crazy stuff then that’s pretty much all I can tell you out in the open at the moment. You’ll have to wait until we get to our new base before I can divulge any further Intel your way.”
Dylan nodded slightly before pausing a moment to look at his current clothing, “Well… Sounds good, but you’ll have to wait until I’m a little more… presentable. Don’t want all you officers jealous of my manliness after all.” He joked warmly as he walked towards the back.
Though before he could any further he was stopped by Damion, whose hand gripped his shoulder gently. “No time for that I’m afraid. But don’t worry you’ll have the chance to change upon our arrival. I’ve taken the liberty of asking Elizabeth to give us your uniform before coming to get you.” He said, before making his way past Dylan and towards the open bay doors.
Dylan looked confused for a moment as he watched Damion walk into the mini blizzard outside before it hit him. “Wait! You were at my house!?” Dylan asked, a little taken back.
“Heh, your wife was all but dancing when we told her the news of your ‘new’ job. Didn’t even get half way into the house before she basically gave us your old uniform…” He replied quickly, before pausing a moment, “Was actually a little scary at how fast she was upon hearing how much we were going to be paying you too… ANYWAYS! Doesn’t matter. All that does matter is getting to our new base and getting things in order.”
As Damion finished speaking, Dylan just stood there in shock…. Everyone but him had basically forced him to join even before he had the chance to agree. Needless to say, he was a fair bit pissed at the news but the figures on the cheque pretty much saw to him letting it all vanish, so long as they were paying him, he didn’t care where he was going. And so, without another word he quickly jogged up beside Damion who slid his hands into his coat pocket.
“By the way… I haven’t actually been to the new base yet either, let alone meet any of the people I’ll be commanding…” Damion’s admitted nonchalantly.
Dylan stood there in the cold, before slowly turning his head towards Damion. “You what?” Dylan questioned.
Damion shrugged, “Haven’t been to the new base yet. First thing on my agenda was getting you.” He repeated quickly, trying to avoid all eye contact with his friend.
“… you know, sometimes I wonder why the military keeps promoting you…” Dylan said before turning his head away and focusing his attention on Izumi’s car as it pulled up in front of them. “Also surprised to see you two back together again as well. Thought the civil war ended you two.” He added once more.
Shaking his head Damion spoke, “We’re not. We’re still divorced.”
“Then?” Dylan pointed towards her car as he spoke before Damion walked over and opened the rear passenger door for him.
“She’s part of the new unit.” And with that, he walked away before climbing into the passenger side of the car.
Izumi looked back at Dylan beaming with joy at the sight of another friendly face. “Glad to see the old gang back together! Elizabeth seemed to be happy as well to see you return to the military again too!” She told him in a joyous tone. “By the way, I got your coffee, it’s in the back there. Large double-double right?”
Dylan gave her a smile, “Glad to see you as well Izumi. Last time I saw you was three years ago, and judging by your tone… you’re still the same ball of joy as you were then.” He replied coolly as he grabbed the offered cup of coffee from the cup holder. “And yeah… surprised you still remember what I take, to be honest with you.” He finished before taking a sip from his cup.
Izumi chuckled softly before turning about, “Well, unlike some forget heads, I have a long memory.” She joked, looking over at Damion who shook his head smiling as he looked outside.
“Good point! I remember when we were posted over in China, I was often having to remind Damion when there was a briefing haha.” Dylan added, half-jokingly.
Damion just sighed lightly, “Can we just get going please, we can all make fun of me AFTER we get to the ‘Pantheon’.” Damion said trying to change the focus as he pointed ahead towards the general direction of the base.
Izumi just continued to laugh in response as she pulled out of the parking lot, doing her best to try and keep her focus on the road. Dylan, on the other hand, leaned back against his seat and looked through the window and into the blizzard, a small smile across his face… He was happy to see his two friends together again, even if they weren’t officially back together, it was still nice to see the two of them smiling and laughing with one another once more, he only hoped he could manage to protect their happiness this time, a thought which was shared by Damion who found his eyes looking over at Izumi’s gentle brown. Seeing her laugh and smile again did wonders to lift his own spirits… Just seeing her smile brought up so many memories of their past… a past he wished he could bring back…
--
The Pantheon was a massive newly constructed base, designed to house some of the nation’s best and brightest citizens, most of whom had dozens if not close to a lifetime worth of experience each within their fields and all of them were under the command of a young 28-year-old blonde whose only reason for holding the rank of Brigadier General was due to past actions during the Pacific Civil War. In truth, Damion found himself biting his bottom lip out of a nervous habit… which was only made more obvious by the shaking of his right leg that started to shake the car a bit to the point Dylan had to constantly remind him with a small cough. Both he and Izumi knew of Damion’s habits when it came to his nerves… he was damn good at his job and had proven himself a highly talented leader and warrior to thousands of men and women in the past wars, but despite all he had been through and had done he was still very much a normal man who often feared how people viewed him… it was one of his greatest weaknesses, one that was often covered up with the help of those close to him to try and give the image of an imposing and almost Napoleon-like figure… when he was the farthest thing from. But all of that vanished as they pulled up to the main building which served as both the ‘brain’ of the entire base as well as the only building that lead to the main research facility being hidden underground.
As the car came to a stop, Damion quickly shook away all his fears and steeled his nerves with a quick breath in, before expelling it all in one go as his lungs emptied again; a small habit he had picked up during his time as a junior officer in the 3rd World War some years back. And so as he opened the car door and stepped out into the cold air he found his eyes wandering about before they rested on four flags of the North American Union, The NAU, the Canadian flag, the flag of the United States of America, and the Mexican flag. All four waved proudly in the bitter winter winds as if to symbolize how strong each of the three nations as a single entity. Then suddenly his attention was quickly taken away by the sound of heavy footsteps falling in alongside him followed closely by a small whistle of amazement.
“Damn~… now this is an impressive base! Have to say, this has got to be the most modern looking place you’ve ever commanded hahaha!” Dylan stated first, “Well no point waiting around. Might as well see what this place looks like from the inside!” As he spoke he was the first to walk forward, making his way towards the large array of glass doors.
Damion smiled, shaking his head lightly. “Thanks, Dylan.” He thought before quickly jogging up beside both his friend and Izumi who were a decent bit ahead of him already.
As they opened the glass doors they quickly greeted with the scent that only a newly constructed building could offer, which surprised the blonde man a fair bit as he shook his head trying to sniff out the scent of new building; as it often times bothered him seeing as how most of his military career had been spent in old rundown buildings, an FOB (Forward Operating Base), or an firebase that was quickly put together… and given how Dylan looked, he too was in the same boat, though he was making it plainly obvious with the frown he was giving that not even his large brown bushy beard could hide.
Shaking away it all he looked over at Izumi who was talking with the nearby Airmen sitting behind the reception desk. Within moments she came walking back over to both men handing them each their temporary passes.
“Here, your passes. You’ll need these to get around both the base and this building as a whole. Needless to say, you won’t have solo access to the floors below until we can manage to get your own set. Now then. Once Dylan’s in uniform we can explore further.” Izumi told both men as they took the passes.
“Thanks.” Damion said as he pulled off his dress coat showing he was wearing his uniform underneath.
Dylan stopped to look at the Star on his friend’s uniform, marking him out as a Brigadier General. “Well… now I see why you’re in charge of the base. Though I have to say it still a little impressive to see the NAU Gold Star on your shoulder haha.” Dylan laughed before he began to follow Izumi who was now gesturing for them to follow her.
“I know… it’s surprised even me man… it surprised even me… mind you, it’s not like you can talk either, ‘Warrant Officer Dylan Smith’.” He returned with a grin.
Both were young for the ranks they held, and both believed they were still surprised by the fact as well, but they knew that there was little point arguing the fact since what was done has been done, and all they could do now was focus on the job they had now.
--
After years in the military, it became almost second nature for Dylan who walked out in full dress uniform looking quite sharp, although his large bushy beard made it hard to actually take him serious, but that was all part of his look and anyone who had served with him before would know full well that the beard was the only thing protecting his image as the scary Senior NCO, more so since he had a baby face underneath all that hair.
“Seems you still remember how to wear a uniform at least.” Damion joked with a small laugh before standing up from the chair in the waiting area.
Dylan smoothed out the dress coat of his uniform a bit as both Damion and Izumi walked towards him, “Mhm… well, it’s only been a few months since I ‘retired’, I can’t imagine anyone forgetting how to put this freaking stuffy thing on… more so after how many events we had to attend wearing the damn things.” He replied, making light of the many different ceremonies they had to attend shortly after the Civil War.
Damion shrugged lightly as they began to once again follow Izumi, this time heading for the elevator. Once inside, Izumi quickly pulled out her ID and slid it into a small key port hidden behind a small wall. Soon the metal doors closed, and the three stood silently as the elevator made its quick decent… that was until Damion coughed.
“Could’ve put in some better elevator music… ” He thought aloud, a grin across his face.
Dylan and Izumi chuckled softly but didn’t say anything in reply, as soon they hit the bottom floor. The thick metal doors soon slid open and all three were quickly hit by a wave of warm air that seemed to have the scent of… sweat?
“Why does it smell like that?” Damion asked as they all stepped out of the elevator and into the large hallway.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“I don’t honestly know…” Izumi replied, also looking a fair bit puzzled for a moment until she came to see why it smelled the way it did.
Out from the nearby corner came walking out a group of soldiers in PT gear, each looking absolutely exhausted as they jogged past, covered in sweat.
Damion and Dylan just watched wide-eyed and a little surprised to see a small section of soldiers marching past them, paying all three little mind as if they all had tunnel vision.
“The fuck?” Dylan caught himself saying aloud.
Damion looked over at Dylan giving a small chuckle, “Well, guess you have some work cut out for you, hey Warrant?” Damion joked, knowing how Dylan wasn’t really a fan of soldiers who forgot to pay attention to everything even when tired as hell.
“… Apparently…” He replied lowly as he made a mental note to himself.
But before they could do or say anything more, another figure came walking… or… rather dancing out from the corner wearing a lab coat and…
“What the fuck!? What’s wrong with this place?” Dylan said as his voice began to grow louder just as his face began to redden by the new image of what he saw, a man wearing only a lab coat and boxers was dancing about the hall as if there was not a worry to be had.
Damion looked a little taken back by the sight, but Izumi just stood there shaking her head. “Damion, Dylan… let me introduce you to the Assistant head of Research… Doctor Michael W. Taylor.” She said introducing the man who came dancing towards them before stopping as he heard his name being called.
Looking up quickly Mike saw the two figures in uniform, and Izumi facepalming hard. “OH! That’s right, I totally forgot we were getting a couple of noobs today.” Mike reminded himself aloud as he walked up to them, extending his hand to Damion. “Pleasure~”
Damion raised a brow as he shook the man’s hand, “Likewise Doctor.”
Mike just smiled as he shook his head before he pulled it closer and looked twisted his hand so his palm was facing up before he suddenly went in close, pulling out his glasses from his white lab coat to examine his hand. “Hmm… AH! So you’re the one! By the gods of science, finally!” Mike exclaimed dramatically as he suddenly twisted about on his heel.
Izumi coughed lightly reminding Mike of her presence, which promptly saw to him turning to see his boss who did not look the least bit happy with him. “O-oh… hey, Miss Nakashima… I… uh… right, so you have this one sane me!” He said before suddenly shaking his head which saw to his green eyes quickly becoming brown. “What?”
“Doctor…” Izumi growled, which quickly saw to Mike go wide-eyed in surprise at both the sight of his boss and by what he wore… that and the sight of a red-faced man with dark brown bushy beard giving him the evil eye.
“I… Sorry doctor, you know the price I paid…” Mike apologized quickly as he quickly buttoned up his lab coat, hiding his hairy chest before coughing lightly into his hand. “Forgive me gentlemen… I believe you had the misfortune of meeting with the other me… gift from the Hydra. Seems each ‘head’ has its own personality and set of skills.” Mike explained, talking as if Damion and Dylan knew what he meant.
Both Damion and Dylan just looked at him confused; although Dylan was both pissed and now confused… making for a rather scary mix as his veins began to shows. Damion just patted his friends' shoulder though letting him know to calm down, which he did almost immediately, as his face suddenly became flushed.
“Umm… Doctor, they have no idea what you’re talking about, let alone know what we’re doing here yet. They’ve really only been given the bare-bones of what we’re doing here and that’s it.” She reported in a soft tone showing she was happy to see the sane Mike return.
Mike just stared at both men for a moment then shook his head sighing lightly. “Well shit… Suppose we should just give them the crash course then? Looks like they’re dressed for a meeting anyways.” He suggested as he looked over at the two men then back towards Izumi.
“I don’t really care what we do, so long as I’m informed what we’re doing here and why there are soldiers running about here.” Damion chimed in before Izumi could say anything, further.
Both Scientists just looked at him before Izumi nodded in agreement with Mike’s suggestion. “Well… lead them towards the ‘gate’ then Doctor. I have to get a few things from my office before anything else.” Izumi ordered which saw to Mike twisting about motioning for the two men to follow him.
Dylan sighed lightly shaking his head before he followed behind the crazy scientist, and before Damion could go any further he was suddenly stopped by Izumi who grabbed his arm. “Wait… I… well I just wanted to say be careful Damion…” She told him, her eyes looking down the ground before she let go of his arm and turned around to head towards her office.
Damion watched her for a moment before smiling, “You know me love. I’m considered to be one of the luckiest men out there. I had you remember?” He replied gently, which quickly saw to Izumi going red in the face as she continued to walk away, not saying anything in reply.
He watched her for a moment longer before turning around and walking to catch up with both his friend and the good doctor.
--
The walk to the ‘gate’ room proved to be a rather fast one, giving how the doctor knew the fastest way to the room, walking through a number of labs and on the way, all of which seemed to be populated with a number of men and women all of whom were some of the most brilliant scientists in their field. In truth, it would be an understatement if Damion did admit to being a bit impressed at how the North American Union government had managed to gather all these brilliant minds together for this one job. But he had to stow away all wonder as they came to the supposed ‘gate’ which wasn’t as much a gate as it was a small orb that sat atop a small column in the middle of a room.
“That’s some gate there Doc, seems like it could take on a whole army.” Dylan said sarcastically as he followed Mike into the room.
Damion however just remained silent, keeping all thoughts to himself for the moment, more so after the initial briefing at the white house a day ago. After seeing the reports and images of demons and mythological beings walking about in our plain of existence, he wasn’t surprised to see that something like an orb would be a sort of gateway for them to enter and exit through. Grinning a bit, he couldn’t help but think how much this seemed like fantasy more than reality, but again it was another thought he pushed from his mind as he walked into the room with the two others.
“Gentlemen, this-this is the gate.” Mike practically beamed with excitement as he showed both men the smoke filled orb.
Damion and Dylan both walked around the pedestal. “So, how do you open this ‘gate’” Dylan asked making quotations with his fingers on the word gate.
“Just rest your hand on it. See what happens.” Mike replied quickly, a smile now across his face.
Damion looked at the doctor for a moment then over to Dylan whose focus was still on the orb. “Fuck it, might as well be the first to try it out.” Dylan said before resting his right hand on the small orb, before suddenly… he collapsed, falling unconscious.
“Dylan!” Damion exclaimed as he rushed too quickly catch his friend before he fell face first into the metal flooring. “What the hell happened Doctor!?” Damion demanded.
Mike looked at Dylan for a moment before his eyes went green, “He was transported to the mythological realm to meet the being most attune to his soul…”
His reply was cryptic and offered little in the way of an answer to Dylan’s state. “F-… well is he going to be okay?” Damion had to stop himself from cursing, trying his best to remain as professional as possible.
“Depends how the first meeting goes… sometimes they just wake up with nothing and others… well… sometimes they don’t wake up at all.” Mike shrugged as he looked down at Dylan, his emerald green eyes looking as though they were examining another project.
Damion swallowed back a hostile retort upon hearing how his friend could well possibly die but knew he had to remain calm at the moment. “All we can do now is wait I’m afraid. If you’d like I can get some tea ready?” Mike chimed up as he twisted about on his heels making a b-line for the attached lab.
Damion just shook his head, “I’m fine… thank you. I’d rather wait here.”
“Suit yourself.” The Green eyed version of Mike replied coldly before walking into the other room, leaving him alone with his friend.
--
Nearly an hour passed before suddenly Dylan started to move again, but as he began to wake up, he let out a large cry of pain as suddenly a long black chain wrapped itself around his arm and neck before turning into a highly detailed dark tattoo that was now hidden under his uniform. Damion rushed over quickly to his friend’s side as he began to blink the sleep from his eyes.
“Dylan, you okay buddy?” Damion asked, his tone showing the worry he had for his friend.
Dylan looked over at him then down at his left hand that had the chain tattoo. “Fenrir is an asshole…” He replied back weakly.
Damion looked puzzled for a moment but smiled and shook his head, he was just happy to see Dylan was up and well, despite the scream of pain he had let out just moments before.
“Seems like you’ve made a successful contract with your ‘demon’ then I take it?” Mike started as he walked into the gate room, his eyes still the same emerald green as before, although the only difference this time being he was now wearing clothes under his lab coat, a welcome change to the previous choice of clothing.
Dylan nodded, “Yeah… I made the contract alright… although I can’t say I’m too happy with the ‘gift’ he gave me.” Dylan added as he raised his arm up before pulling back the sleeve to show the black chain tattoo that wrapped around the entirety of his arm.
Both Mike and Damion both looked at the new tattoo a bit confused as to what it was supposed to mean. “I take it this is supposed to be some sort of special gift then?” Mike asked, as he pulled out his phone and took a picture.
Dylan quickly covered up his arm upon the camera flashing. “Yeah… I’d say it’s more a curse than a gift.” He replied slowly before continuing, “And it’s a weapon gift. Apparently… An unbreakable chain called the ‘chain of eternity’. Essentially, it’s the chain that binds Fenrir to the rock.”
“Wait… I remember now. Fenrir, the wolf son of the Norse god of trickery, Loki.” Damion recalled.
Dylan nodded in reply before Mike interjected before he could say anything more. “I’d like to ask you to-”
Suddenly the entire room shook violently as the sound of an explosion echoed throughout. All three men quickly found themselves quickly looking towards the source of the explosion before the lights quickly turned red and the alarms began to blare to life, causing Mike to curse under his breath.
“Fuck… they found us already…” Mike growled low as his eyes suddenly turned to a shade of blood red. “Dylan, we’ll be needing you to use your new abilities here.” He added turning to face a stern-faced Dylan who pulled off his dress coat throwing it to the side, before rolling up his sleeves.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” He replied coldly as his veteran mind began to take over.
Damion did the same pulling off his coat but before he made his way towards the door Mike stopped him as he pressed his hand on the General’s chest. “No you sir. You’re not ready to fight what’s coming… not yet anyways.” He told him in a deep tone before he looked over and pointed towards the orb. “It's your turn to step through the gate this time. And don’t worry I’ll guard this room while you’re having your own meeting.”
Damion opened his mouth to protest, but before the words could be formed, Dylan spoke up, “He’s right Damion… my meeting quickly opened my eyes to the new threat we’ll be facing here… and believe me… convention weapons won’t do the trick this time.” And as he finished speaking a dark grey fog began to quickly envelop him until suddenly he was covered entirely.
Mike watched unsurprised, while Damion stared in shock at what he was hearing and now seeing before suddenly a loud and might howl could be heard from Dylan before suddenly the dark fog vanished in a wave of light forcing both men to shield their eyes. Upon the light fading Damion quickly turned to see what happened, but what he saw made his jaw drop in surprise as his friend stood two feet taller wearing a demonic silver and grey armour wrapped in black chains, with a torn up looking grey shoulder cape over his right arm covering the demonic pauldron wrapped in spiked chains. His head covered by what appeared to be a timber wolf shaped helmet with ruby red eyes. Staring down at the two Dylan spoke.
“Don’t worry Damion I’ll go protect Izumi until you get back.” Dylan spoke in a deep and dark sounding tone before suddenly two long blades appeared in his armoured hands.
Damion couldn’t say anything due to how much shock he was still in at the sight, but he gave his head a shake before speaking finally, “I’ll hold you to it Dylan… just remember to keep the doors to hell open for me when I return!”
And with a small demonic chuckle Dylan smashed through the glass doors and charged through the lab and into the halls, vanishing from sight, leaving Mike and Damion alone.
Mike watched for a moment before turning to face Damion who he quickly nudged over towards the orb. “Don’t keep him waiting. And don’t worry… he’s not the only Demon Knight in the base. The other is standing before you General.” Mike grinned before suddenly blood red waters began to enveloped the black haired scientist.
Within moments Damion was now staring at a 7 foot tall crimson coloured demonic armour with seven heads, each with different coloured eyes and voices. This armour however looked like metallic scales, with a trident for a weapon, which was held firmly in the Knight’s right hand. “Heh~ been a while since I’ve gotten take this form…” Mike thought aloud in seven different voices before turning to face Damion. “Go now! I’ll guard the door.” He barked before then turning and walking into the lab, leaving the General alone with the orb.
A lot was happening and had happened in front of Damion’s eyes as he stood in shocked silence at what he had just witnessed. But he knew he couldn’t ponder on what he had just seen and heard, remembering quickly what Mike had said. And so turning towards the orb he made his approach, taking in a deep breath before he brought his right hand to rest on the small smoke filled orb… suddenly he was hit by a bright white light before suddenly he was thrown into another world…