(Hi everyone, I'm sorry If I confused any of my usual readers by posting so soon compared to the last story but seeing as somethings involving the two universes, I just HAD to make this prelude of a series involving a certain spirit boy.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used in this production, they are owned by their respected owners from their respective series.
And don't forget to read and leave any reviews that are on your minds.)
Ch.1: Spirits of Compassion and Freedom
Cole looked around as he wasn't sure how he got there. He remembered standing in front of Morrigan's Eluvian before it began to glow, but found himself in this place instead. The floor was metal, cold as ice, not made out of stone or wood like most places Cole has been. Then he looks around he heard shouts and strange sounds. The rogue can feel things around him, people getting hurt, and he knew that he must help stop the hurting in some way.
Picking up his blades, Cole walked out of the room, making himself invisible. He watched the battle with men in some kind of armor and weapons that seemed to cause instant pain to the other men in rough clothing, similar to his, who were fighting back. Cole could sense that the men in the strange black armor are concentrated on completing a goal, a goal that they knew would win them the war that they are fighting, even if they had to hurt and kill more people. The men who looked like prisoners where filled with hope and duty, fighting, dying, and killing for their cause, in the hopes of going home where their loved ones where waiting.
Not needing to deliberate on what to do next, Cole hurried, unseen, to the battle where the hurting was greatest, while cutting down more and more of the soldiers who felt like the Red Templars to the young spirit. Cole sneaked up on a soldier that seemed to be shooting blasts of energy at the prisoners as if they were mages, stopping him with a slash of his daggers across the soldier's neck. The prisoners who were pinned down saw Cole standing over the dead soldier seemed afraid of him.
"I am Cole, I am here to help." Cole told them, though they seemed more afraid because of how he looked with his hat, or how he appeared out of nowhere and killed their prisoner.
One of the prisoners, taking a chance, walked up to him, "Thanks for the help, man. Are you with that Captain America?"
"'Captain America'? Who is he? I am with no one." Cole said. He was curious about this captain with a name like America. Wondered if he was similar to The Iron Bull that he knows.
"So you're not with the guy with the blue helmet and shield?" a shorter man asked confused.
Cole turned to look at him, "I already told you, I do not know this Captain. I only helped because that is what I want to do. I help people."
"Then you need to go back in there. A lot of our boys are still in there." A man with a light Fereldin like accent said as he pointed back into the building.
Cole turned to face it as he did feel someone needing of help inside. As he began walking he said, "Then I will go to them."
"But how'd you expect to get-" The short man asked, but Cole vanished. The three prisoners looked at each other, shrugged, then hurried off to their destinations.
Inside the building Cole hurried, noticed by no one as he continued to cut down more soldiers as to help the prisoners who were still fighting inside the complex. Cole made himself visible only when he had no other choice while fighting more of the dark clad soldiers whose symbol resembled a skull with octopus tentacles curled under it.
In his command room Johan Schmidt, the leader of Hydra, had finished initializing the last of the self-destruct timers and was about to leave, when he saw something on the screen. It was a young man, with no muscle tone or armor with a large hat fighting his soldiers with nothing but sharp knives like daggers. What also surprised the leader of Hydra was how he seemed to have vanished and the HYDRA soldiers fell dead with his melee and mediaeval looking weapons while being able to become invisible, "Interesting…"
Cole had taken a turn and a man almost as short as a drawf, but with some kind of thing in front of his eyes bumped into the rogue. He fell to the ground and hurried away to where Cole came from. Hearing more voices ahead Cole continued on his way only to see two men walking out of a room, one blond with a shield the other brown with a dazed look about him almost as Templars do when too much Lyrium had gotten to them.
"What happened to you?" a voice asked from inside the room as two men came out. The blond with a helmet answered, "I joined the army."
'They need help, one of them is hurting. I stop the hurting.' Cole thought as he headed towards the pair.
When Captain Steve Rogers and Sargent Bucky Barnes made it out of Dr. Zola's office they saw a young man with a large hat. The skinny young man reminded Steve of how he was before the procedure that turned him into a super-soldier.
"Stop, who are you?" Steve ordered, not taking chances with what he saw tonight.
The young man continued walking as he took Bucky over by the shoulder him and said, "I am Cole, I want to help, sent here to help. You and him."
Steve was confused by the way that this Cole spoke, but didn't have time to think of anything but only to get Bucky out of here.
The three continued their way until Steve took point as Cole helped Bucky walk despite the soldier's denial. Sgt. Barnes asked his friend, "Did it hurt?"
"Only a Little." Steve answered picking up the pace.
Looking at his friend again Bucky asked, "Is it permanent?"
"So far." The Captain replied again, not noticing that Cole was focusing on him.
Cole said suddenly, catching the other two men's attentions, "Pain, immense, excruciating, like daggers splitting the bones out from within, attempting to change me. Cannot stand it, wanted it to stop, but need to keep going, cannot let others down, let Dr. Erskine down, not after giving me a chance to serve, to help beat back the bullies."
Steve stopped and turned to Cole, "How do you know about that?"
"I can hear it, listening to the hurt, it speaks to me as a person does. Flows like the wind in a grassy meadow. I come to those that need help, and I help them." Cole said stopping.
Steve wanted more answers but he knew he didn't have time. He said, "We'll talk about this later."
Cole remained silent as he helped Bucky along. They reached a gang plank as the facility seemed to explode. The explosion near them caused the three of them to draw back and take cover from the heat of the blast.
"They seek to leave no trace, nothing to find, nothing to be used against them." Cole stated as he saw the destruction. He followed the other two up the stairs, higher, away from the flames.
When Cole and Bucky reached the top they turned to follow the Captain. That was until they heard a voice calling out to them.
"Captain America! How exciting!" A tall man with short brown hair in a black leather outfit with red pin-stripe greeted as he handed a strange looking object to the small scared man next to him. Both Cole and Steve recognized the small man as the taller man in black continued talking, "I am a great fan of your films!"
He got on the small bridge connecting the two sides as Steve did the same from his side to the other. Schmidt commented, "So Dr. Erskine was able to manage it after all."
Looking the blond soldier over, the man continued, "Not exactly an improvement, but still, impressive."
Rogers suddenly punched Schmidt in the face as if it was some kind of revenge or payback for what happened to Dr. Erskine. The captain growled, "You've got no idea…"
"Haven't I?" Schmidt asked as he delivered a punch of his own.
Rogers had only enough time to use his shield to block it but the five men heard a loud clang as the Captain saw the imprint of the man's fist in his steel triangular shield.
Steve, in fear, grabbed for his gun, but before he could fire it, Schmidt had knocked it away. Cole noticed how Schmidt's eye seemed to be covering something as he concentrated on the Hydra leader then gasped in shock as he began to speak, while Steve used his feet to push Schmidt back, "Determination, colder than steel, sharpest of all weapons not letting anything getting in the way of the goal. I alone walk in the path to godhood for I am most worthy, even though I wear the face of a mortal."
Bucky looked back and forth from Schmidt and Cole as he asked confused, "What?"
"I don't like him." Cole said vanishing and reappearing behind Schmidt. Attempting to stab the Hydra leader in the back. But Dr. Zola pulled the switch causing both him and the red skull to shake, making the Red Skull aware of Cole's presence from behind. As he turned and grabbed the skinny young man by the neck, Schmidt smirked, raising him up from the ground, "Aren't you an interesting one."
Schmidt then flung Cole across the growing gap between the bridges as he landed on the Captain. Steve helped Cole up as the three watched Schmidt who stood on the edge of the retreating bridge as the leader of Hydra said, taunting the star-spangled hero, "No matter what lies Erskine have told you, you see, I was his greatest success."
He then reached under his collar and seemed to have grabbed something until he began pulling his own face off to reveal a red colored skull with no ears or a nose, but scary eyes and teeth. The revelation of the Hydra leader's true face caused both Captain America and Bucky to flinch in horror while Cole remained unnerved, like he has seen worse.
Bucky stared at the red skull like face and weakly asked his friend, "You don't have one of those, do you?
"You are deluded Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you're just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind." Schmidt, the red skull, said as he tossed his face mask away into the flames. He walked to Dr. Zola and the elevator.
"Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!" Schmidt declared to his three enemies as he and Zola entered the Elevator.
"Then how come you're running?!" Captain America called back trying to get Schmidt to fight more but the Red Skull just smiled as the elevator's doors closed.
"He knows that you are trying to goad him into a fight; he wants to leave before the building is no more, no matter how many of his own troops he must sacrifice. I really don't like him…" was Cole's reply after the Red Skull left.
"You're not the only one." Bucky said as they looked around.
Steve then ordered, "Come on, let's go. Up!"
They reached the highest part of the building where support beams were and Steve told Bucky, "Let's go. One at a time."
Cole helped Steve get the weakened Bucky across the railing to the beam.
Bucky began his walk as he heard Cole called out, "Just so you know, if you fall, I won't be able to catch you."
"Wonderful…" Bucky muttered as he continued on his way across the beam until he reached the midpoint. Suddenly the beam began to loosen. Not taking any chances Bucky ran till he reached the other side in time before the beam fell into the fiery explosions below.
Steve let out a sigh of relief. When he saw that his best friend made it across. Turning to Cole he said, "Ok Cole you're nex-"
But Cole was not there. Looking for the young man with the large hat, the super soldier saw him across with a surprised Bucky who turned back to Steve and shouted, "There's gotta be a rope or something!"
"Just go! Get out of here, you two!" Steve shouted back at the two across the way.
Cole grabbed Bucky by the arm and tried to pull Bucky away, trusting in the Captain's words. The Sergeant resisted even though Cole didn't let go, "NO! Not without you!"
"It's what he wants, to make sure we make it out before him, you must trust him. Have faith that he will survive." Cole told as he kept his hold on Sgt. Barnes, who refused to leave his best friend.
Seeing his friend refusing to go, Steve cursed, then looked for a way to get to them until he came up with a crazy idea that just might work. He began to bend one of the railings out of his way before taking steps back and running till he jumped as high and far as he could as explosions went off around him.
(What did you all think? I was inspired by Cole and how he wished to help people, however that also can be said true for Captain America, but I was also fascinated with the idea of the Tessaract, a powerful relic that could bend space and could open a portal to an entirely different universe that's out side of the Marvel's group of universes. So let's see how things will go for our young Spirit boy when he and the others escape from the Hydra Base.)