Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order
Chapter 29: Return to Gehenna, Part 1
(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)
It was another wintry day on Gehenna as everyone was busy rebuilding the fort since the Wendigo attack. It had been three months since the fort had been on the brink of destruction as it was nearly finished. With Sadie in charge of leadership, she was determined not to be cold to her fellow comrades who were coming from other planets just to fix the fort in such wintry conditions. It had also been a time of healing since she would see Castiel again after he healed her broken legs as she wanted some guidance from me, who was far away from this cold place. All this time, Sadie had acted cold against me due to the influence of her late father as she wanted to be more like him at first, but after hearing from Castiel when he healed her, she turned forward into a different direction as she vowed to hunt any form of Wendigo who dared to harm the innocent.
She didn't any more of her comrades and servants to be killed by the monsters that ravaged the fort months ago as she vowed to delve into the knowledge that was sealed up in that secret compartment inside. The dust continued to collect on the numerous volumes that were stacked on the shelf as Sadie grabbed one of the books and read through it. She thought about me as she once viewed me as a nuisance over the years being here at the fort, but after reading newspaper articles about me being an Elder among the rest of the higher-ups of the Order, she was starting to get a little jealous of me for marrying Reiko, but it passed due to what she would protect in the future. When she got out of the secret compartment, she saw several people screaming for their lives as she spotted the culprits that were invading the fort in the main hall.
She had never seen them before until now as they opened their mouths wide. The invading people that appeared were Leviathans as they were ready to capture the remaining members of the Order that survived the Wendigo attack. Sadie drew out her gun as she fired at one of them in which it bled black ooze. She had never expected those monsters to show up at the fort as they had other plans for the surviving comrades from the fort.
"Sadie Thrippe," said one of the Leviathans. "The boss wants you and all of your comrades to come with us."
"Go to hell, monster!" she cried. "We have been reeling from the Wendigo attack and we're not gonna go through that again!"
"Sorry, but all of you are going to be part of the buffet soon..."
"What the hell are you talking about? We're not going anywhere! This is our fort! We'll stop at nothing to defend it to the last one standing, do you hear me?!"
A gun was pointed at Sadie as she was out of options here. The group of Leviathans were ready to take the rare delicacies known as humans out of the fort and onward to where they needed to go. It was hell here as someone in hiding was writing a letter when the trouble came here to the fort. It was Tanei who was writing the letter as she gave it to the Orianthan courier that was waiting outside. She needed help from the rest of the Order as she gave the letter to the courier before she was caught on the spot.
"Please, give this letter to the Order. It's urgent!" she said desperately.
And so, the courier received the letter as he fled the fort and went towards his ship. He had to find help here right away before all of the survivors of the fort were about to be put into pens and become food for those infernal Leviathans that were operating in a domed city somewhere...
I was packing up some winter clothing as I was about to go back to where I was put into all those years ago. Even though I never wanted to go back to Gehenna, but I didn't have no choice in the matter, for the people in the fort needed my help right away. Still, I didn't want to leave Reiko behind as I saw her standing in front of me. She was nearing the end of her first trimester of her pregnancy as she was filling out nicely. I even saw the baby bump become visible through her dress as I just simply wanted to take her before going off to Gehenna, but I couldn't stand the chance of putting her into harm's way while going there.
"It's terrible that you're going off alone," she said.
"I know, but I will think of you always," I said.
"This Gehenna..., is it dangerous?"
"Gehenna was where Dean and I were taken to after our father's funeral, but I didn't have much good memories there."
"Were there people who were cruel to you?"
"There was one that was on my case all the time, but he was killed by his children while going towards Harkonnen at the time. His youngest daughter's in charge of the fort, but I hope that she doesn't end up like him."
"Was she also cruel to you?"
"She was, but I didn't let it bother me. She's most likely to be set up with a match by the Rakuen Priesthood by now, but there's always the infernal Thrippe Family curse that occurs."
"Sammy, I know that Sadie was mean to you, but please don't leave her out."
"I'll do what I can to save her and the rest of the people at the fort. I read the letter from Gehenna and from the looks of it, the survivors from the Wendigo attack were all rounded up by Leviathans."
That last bit in my sentence shook Reiko to the core as she heard all about them. She remembered the presence of them in Thranduil Valley when they tried to turn the Terran population into the perfect food source, but their efforts were foiled by us from the Order of Letters. The Leviathan threat was something that could never be taken lightly as we had to stop them from turning the people from the fort on Gehenna into food. They had to be stopped, for we had to intervene before it was too late...
Yashamaru was sitting on the roof of the castle as he was seeing the leaves from the trees fall down. He was also dreading the moment that I would be going back to Gehenna where I lived at for many years before going back here to Alecrast. It wasn't long until he saw Bobby sitting there next to him as he was twitching his furry tail and looking up in the sky. The cat was no stranger to the Leviathan threat as he was once killed by Dick Roman in the Elder Days. Now, that they took action into enslaving the survivors of the fort on Gehenna, they have become such an infernal nuisance while hiding in the form of SucroCorp on Harkonnen.
"I take it that you still bear a grudge against the Leviathans," said Yashamaru.
"I always held a grudge against those idjits when Dick Roman killed me two thousand years ago," said Bobby. "It seems to me that those monsters are pretty much on the gluttonous side due to what they did back in the Elder Days."
"Totsuka and I remember it very clearly since the Leviathans stowed away in Castiel's body, only to cause him to melt into the water, where they possessed the people near that water supply."
"Sam's gonna have to face the monsters there on Gehenna, for he's about to go back into the belly of the beast soon enough."
Yashamaru and Bobby were still sitting on the roof as they watched the leaves fromt the trees fall on a crisp September evening. They were aware of the Leviathan threat and what it did long ago, for it was a reminder of what they went through in the past...
Two thousand years ago in the past...
Yashamaru and Totsuka were surveying the damage to Bobby's house after it was burnt down last night. They hadn't seen anything else like it as the house was torched by something. It was hell in the junkyard that Bobby managed as both Shinigami saw something near a car that was flipped over. It was the sight of black ooze as it was on the undercarriage of it where it landed on Edgar last night. The Leviathan threat was in motion as it was like no other danger that ever encroached on the planet, for there would be danger in the form of a gluttonous monster that bled black ooze.
"So, that's where the Leviathan got smashed up," said Totsuka.
"The one that had the car dropped on him got away," said Yashamaru.
"I bet that the Winchesters and Old Man Singer are pretty much far away by now."
"Let's hope that they are far away."
CH-CH!
Yashamaru and Totsuka heard the sound of a shotgun being cocked as they turned around and noticed Sheriff Jody Mills standing in front of them. She had been through hell after not only getting an appendectomy, but was seeing the Leviathan threat in the hospital as she wanted to stop them after seeing one of them devour the organs of the woman that was in the room with her. This wasn't the first time she was seeing the unexplained firsthand as she lost her family during the time of the Apocalypse a year ago. This time, she didn't want to stand by and let those monsters devour any more patients that were being hauled into Sioux Falls General.
"Speak of the Devil, we've been hosed," said Totsuka.
"Wait, I know you two. You hang around Bobby Singer, don't you?" said Jody suspiciously as she put her gun down. "Well, you're too little, too late because his house got torched last night after I was rescued."
"Sheriff Mills," said Yashamaru. "Last night, you witnessed one of them eating the organs of your roommate, didn't you?"
"Dr. Gaines..., well, he wasn't Dr. Gaines, but I know that he ate somebody and I'm telling you the truth here."
"Sheriff Mills," said Totsuka. "The Winchesters and Old Man Singer have been out-of-state since this morning, but-"
Without warning, Jody heard her cellphone ringing. When she picked it up, she saw the name, "Dr. Tomoe Nishizaki," in bold letters as she picked it up and answered it right away. There was something going on as it was a job that was left mainly for Yashamaru and Totsuka to stop the Leviathans before they ate the entire population of Sioux Falls altogether
"Hello?" she said.
"Hello, is this Sheriff Mills?" asked a frightened woman's voice over the phone. "Please, you have to get to Sioux Falls General. Dr. Gaines and the hospital staff are eating the people in the morgue."
"You, too, huh?"
"Please, get here! The man that was once Dr. Gaines isn't human and neither is the nurse or administrator."
"Calm down, I've got help on the way. I'll be there as fast as I can."
Jody hung up her phone as she was ready to get back to the monster den that she came out of. Still, she was reeling from both her appendectomy and her encounter with the Leviathan that was once Dr. Gaines as she spotted Yashamaru and Totsuka standing in front of the Impala, which hadn't been driven since last night. They all had to get to the hospital as they had to get the Leviathans away from the patients that have died in their care (or in any case, eaten them).
"We'll take it from here," said Yashamaru as he got into the Impala.
"Don't you have a driver's license?" asked Jody.
"There's no time. The people in the hospital and the doctor who called you could end up being eaten by the monster that you saw."
"So, you're taking the Impala to go to the hospital just to take out that monster in surgeon's clothing, aren't you?"
"The monsters you saw are called Leviathans. They're intelligent, they fit in the shapeshifter pattern, and they have a ravenous appetite for human flesh. Bobby singer saw the one who turned into the surgeon in the hospital morgue in which there is no effect when he shot him with silver rounds. He even said they bleed black ooze."
"Is that what the surgeon's called. I have to go there with you guys. I can't let Dr. Gaines eat anyone else like that windbag roomie I had."
"We'll flush them out just like that," said Totsuka as he was searching through the charred rubble and fished out a familiar object in a steel box. "It's a good thing that a certain something didn't get torched." He opens it up as he sees the Colt and bullets still intact. "Well, are we ready to kick some ass?"
Without further hesitation, Totsuka put his helmet on as he revved up his motorcycle while placing the Colt and bullets into the compartment in the back. With Yashamaru fishing out a key with three kinds of metal on it, he placed it into the Impala as it molded into the ignition while starting it up. Even Jody tagged along as she got in on the passenger's side as she wanted to help the people in the hospital before they got eaten by the Leviathans before anything else happened...
The shift ended for the night at Sioux Falls General as a woman dressed in dark blue kimono and labcoat came out of there and was ready to clock out for the rest of the evening. She was someone that was dedicated into helping people as she still had her light teal hair put up in a ponytail. By the time she was on her way out, she was scared to death as she saw a dead body on the floor. She saw the carnage as it was a recently dead patient who lost his life from his injuries. Her suspicions rang true as she was even keeping tabs from Dr. Gaines when she discovered the real one in the morgue earlier. With her call made to Jody earlier, she was hoping that help would be on the way soon. Just as she was about to go towards the entrance, she saw something in the form of the hospital administrator as he got done feasting on a recently dead patient earlier.
"Dr. Nishizaki, I hear that your skin crawls when you see something like this," he said as he was feeling the hunger overpower him. "Oh, you might taste even better when you're prepared just to be eaten."
The woman known as Tomoe Nishizaki saw the administrator's mouth open up is it was one big maw that was ready to eat her alive. She was scared to death as she ran towards the supply room. She was hoping to God that someone would save her right away as she was standing next to some cleaning supplies on a shelf. The monster she saw earlier was hot on her trail as he finally made it into the supply room just to search for her. Tomoe was scared to death as she felt her heart pounding at an alarming rate. Without warning, she saw the Leviathan standing in front of her as he was ready to eat her entirely until he felt a bullet hit him in the neck when he fell down onto the floor. It was at that moment when she saw Totsuka standing in front of her with the Colt in his hand.
"Thank you..., for saving me," she said.
"Are you the one that called Sheriff Mills?" asked Totsuka.
"Yes... Is she here?"
"She's with Yashamaru right now. They'll be here soon."
"Behind you!"
Without warning, the Leviathan was up as he seized Totsuka by the arm and changed into him, but it didn't turn out that great. He saw the monster in his form as it resembled something between an Edvard Munch painting and a Picasso picture. He was ready to face the Leviathan directly as he drew out his sword in order to take it out.
"You, there!" he said as he was looking at Tomoe. "Get yourself to safety! I've got this monster!"
Tomoe obeyed him as she left the supply room. It was now Totsuka going up against the Leviathan as it had his form, but the rest of it looked as if was melted from being in the heat. Both Shinigami and the monster were duking it out as they were knocking things over. With Totsuka being tossed first, he fell next to a bottle of Power Clean as it hadn't been used yet. He had an idea when he saw the misshapen Leviathan coming towards him with its maw wide open. When he turned on the spray of the Power Clean, it took him four tries to get it to work until he sprayed the monster in its mouth. He saw the Leviathan writhing in pain as it didn't like the taste of what it ingested earlier.
"Looks like I got a brand new weapon," said Totsuka as he was holding the bottle of Power Clean.
When he saw the misshapened Leviathan coming towards him, he grabbed his sword and cut off its head as it fell towards a shelf. Even though he decapitated it, he noticed that the head was starting to slowly come back to its body until he stuck it with a sword and put it towards a furnace. Opening it up, he threw the head into there as he shut the door and locked it. He was now going up against the Leviathan threat just like the Winchesters as he vowed to put them in their place if need be. It wasn't long until Yashamaru came into the supply room to see what happened in there.
"I take it that you went up against one of them," said Yashamaru.
"Yeah, it put up a fight, but they have a crappy time changing into one of us." said Totsuka.
"For a brief moment, they were once hard to kill, but you managed to kill one."
"The Leviathan threat now has an Achilles' Heel." Totsuka shows Yashamaru the bottle of Power Clean in his hand. "You see this? This baby's got a punch towards our floundering bottom feeders."
"I see now." Yashamaru sees the ingredients that are on the label of the bottle. "There's sodium borate in that cleaner."
"Sodium borate as in Borax?"
"Yes, our gluttonous enemies are susceptible to this chemical, but not anything else."
"As soon as we catch up to Old Man Singer, we'll show him what we got."
And so, both Shinigami were ready to flush out the rest of the Leviathans that were lurking around the hospital as they were also ready to catch up with Jody soon enough. They were in this fight when the latest threat showed up as they would stop at nothing to lend their support to the Winchesters and Bobby Singer in order to stand up to this menace...
Jody was searching throughout the hospital as she was looking for Dr. Gaines, who was hiding somewhere snacking on some freshly killed patients in there. With her gun in her hand, she was tough as she didn't let the appendectomy get to her. Even after she recovered quickly from what she went through, she didn't let it bother her as she was ready to pop a cap into one of the monsters that have been lurking around in the hospital in plain sight. When she spotted a nurse coming out of the morgue, she became suspicious as she noticed that there was blood on her scrubs. Jody knew right away that the nurse was another Leviathan in human's clothing as she had to get her away from the human staff and patients.
"Sheriff Mills," said the nurse. "You should be home resting."
"After what I saw last night, I can't let Dr. Gaines eat any more people," she said as she had her gun pointed at the Leviathan. "I know what you've been doing and I'll stop at nothing to shut you guys down."
The nurse opened up her mouth wide as she was ready to eat Jody on the spot. Just as she was about to fire her weapon at the nurse, she saw Yashamaru sprinting with his vajra in his hand as he opened the inner part to reveal a silver wire to cut with. With Jody firing a shot into the nurse, Yashamaru made a clean cut out of the nurse as the head came off. Spotting a plastic bag, he put the head into it as he used a warding paper on it when it turned into ash. Jody had never seen anything like as she saw the headless Leviathan leaking the black ooze out from its neck, for it was the same thing that was eating the patients in the morgue just like Dr. Gaines was doing with the roommate that died.
"I bet that Bobby Singer's gonna love this," she said.
"The worst is over for the time being," said Yashamaru.
"And what about Dr. Gaines?"
Yashamaru heard his cellphone ringing as he picked it up. He had a gut feeling that the infamous Dr. Gaines would fly the coop soon enough as there would be much bigger problems lurking in the dark in plain sight. It would only be a matter of time before it happened, but there would also be a time when the Leviathans would bite off more than they could chew if they weren't careful.
"Hello?" said Yashamaru.
"Yashamaru," said Totsuka over the phone. "Dr. Gaines just split. I even managed to find his stash of his midnight snacks back in the morgue. The guy's been working hard non-stop since last night, but his appetite's just like a parasite's."
"Sheriff Mills and I will meet you at the emergency room exit. What about the woman you saved?"
"She's probably hightailing it after what she saw."
"We better get going before anything else happens."
Yashamaru hung up his cellphone as he and Jody were on their way towards the exit to the emergency room. To their surprise, they saw Tomoe standing in front of them as she was thankful that help arrived in time. She was grateful that the nightmare in the hospital was over as she later saw Totsuka sprinting down the hall with his weapons and a bottle of cleaner in his hands. It was over for now as everyone was safe from the threat that came from Castiel's vessel as there would be a time when the head honcho of them all hatch a very dastardly plan indeed. Just as everyone was about to go outside, they saw Edgar standing in front of them as he didn't budge, for he was hunting the Winchesters and Bobby Singer, who left town when the house in the junkyard got torched.
"Yashamaru and Totsuka," he said as he stood firm. "I had a feeling that you would foil the operation that I hatched up."
"Where's Dr. Gaines?" asked Jody.
"Dr. Gaines is no longer here when I told him about all of you coming here to save the damsel in distress. You even had the gall to drive the Impala without the proper keys in it."
"Your head honcho has something nasty in mind due to the Soylent Green crap you're about to pull," said Totsuka. "You won't last long because there will be someone other than us that will chop your head off."
"I beg to differ."
"You burnt down Bobby Singer's house, didn't you?" said Yashamaru.
"He is a threat and so are the Winchesters. Very soon, I will take my leave and go back to the boss for more instructions. You may enjoy your freedom as much as you like, but when we take over entirely, there will be nothing left of you."
The sound of a whistle was blown as everyone saw Edgar leave the hospital. When Yashamaru and the others got out of the hospital and towards the lawn, they were in for a long run as there would be a much bigger danger in mind.
"Looks like Edgar's not the type that can mess around so easily," said Totsuka.
"Is that man a Leviathan, too?" asked Tomoe.
"The one called Edgar is a demolitions expert and the right hand man to the one that leads them," said Yashamaru. "Wherever their base of operations are, the Winchesters must be warned about this soon enough."
"Winchesters? Wait! Last night, I saw two men come into the hospital: One of them had a head injury and the other one had a broken leg. Are they alright? I hope that they didn't get eaten."
"They didn't because I told Old Man Singer about what's been going on after Sheriff Mills gave us the info about the elusive Dr. Gaines," said Totsuka.
"Where are they, anyway?" asked Jody.
Yashamaru checked his cellphone again as he saw Otoka's name on it that's been calling. Earlier, he sent him on a mission to guard the Winchesters and Bobby from possible Leviathans as he even hoped that nothing bad happened along the way.
"Hello?"
"Yeeeeesssss?" said a familiar voice over the phone.
"Otoka, where are you and Samehada right now?"
"Right now, we're on guard duty after what the Bottom Feeders tried to do. By the way, there's a cabin that Old Man Turner left."
"I know; it's in-"
"-Whitefish, Montana. That's where the cabin would be. As for the Bottom Feeders, they can suck it for all I care."
"All of us know now that the Leviathan threat has been averted here in Sioux Falls, but the rest of them are hiding in plain sight due to what came out of Castiel. You should be careful about them. Their head honcho is the alpha one who is certain to do some damage soon enough."
"Well, we're in Wyoming right now, but are you gonna bring the Impala over so that Dean would stop bitchin'?"
"We'll meet you there in Rufus Turner's cabin when we get there."
When Yashamaru hung up the phone, he was now ready to check up on the Winchesters and Bobby as they were far away from Sioux Falls since this morning. The threat was real indeed as even Jody would stop at nothing to protect the innocent from something like that. When she saw Yashamaru and Totsuka be on their way, she was ready to make sure that no other monster would bring harm to the town indeed. As for Tomoe, however, she viewed the two Shinigami as the ones that saved the hospital from the Leviathans as she waved goodbye to them when they left in the Impala and Totsuka's motorcycle. She hoped to see them again soon, for they would always be here in Sioux Falls time and again...
Meanwhile, back in the present...
I was on my way to the Hunter Corps ship as I was ready to go. I had a mission to fulfill as I went straight inside. I never wanted to leave Reiko all alone, but it was also going to be dangerous as I was thinking about her. Earlier, I said goodbye to her as I promised her that I would return here soon enough. It wasn't long until I saw Dean enter as he was still reeling from his injuries. He wanted to go on this mission to Gehenna as he was also determined to save the comrades of the fort from the Leviathans that invaded it. I was concerned for him after being injured by that Rakshasa earlier as he was eager to back me up either way.
"So, who brought all the dip and chips?" he said as he sat down in one of the seats.
"We're going back to the place that we were put into, Dean," I said. "It's ironic that we stayed there on Gehenna for years, but going back is something that we must face."
"So, you're going back into the lion's den, aren't you?"
"I don't have a choice here. Remember the Leviathans that were trying to take over Thranduil Valley by enslaving the population in order to become the perfect food source for their own needs? They're doing it again and this time, it's on the place that we were brought to years ago."
"And you're going back to the place where you've been labeled a doormat all your life."
"I don't like it as much as you do, but damn it, I can't let the Leviathans eat all our surviving comrades. We have to go there to save them and that's what we do best."
"And what is that?"
"We hunt things and save people and it's also the family business while being in the Order of Letters. We may not like the uglyness that we see, but we have to face it like men. If you want to fight, you have to be brave; if you want to protect, you have to be strong; if you want to survive, you have to endure."
Dean was flabbergasted at the fact that I had simply forged something within myself all those years ago. I was about to return to the very place where I endured such cruelty from Sylvanus since I was young as I also realized that I had to return to the belly of the beast sooner or later. Most of my years, I had been thrown under the bus while being there on Gehenna, but I had slowly forged my knowledge into a weapon that kept me sane and secure while I was a servant and cataloguer most of the time. I was going back not only to be put under such dismal trouble, but I had to save my comrades from becoming food for those infernal Leviathans that have invaded the fort. It wasn't long until I saw Shigeru enter into the ship as he was also ready to fight the Leviathans that have invaded the fort on Gehenna just like me and Dean. He was no stranger to the Leviathan threat as he helped me destroy one of SucroCorp's plants in one of the domed cities on that frozen wasteland.
"So, the chompers have went to extremes again," he said as he sat down in another seat.
"Yeah, but this time, it's at the fort," I said.
"They never learn, do they?"
"We're not gonna let them have their way for their gluttonous needs. They mainly do this just to enslave and feed on the humans and aliens that come in and out of this planetary system. I know that I don't want to go back there, but I can't abandon the people in the fort."
"Sam, we may be far away from that popsicle stand, but we're all in this fight. I know that you experienced the pain and misery at the fort, but you have to put it all behind you. The people there need you just as much as we do and we're not gonna let them be a part of the menu while we're still standing. Besides, we're the hunters that come to the rescue and we'll stop at nothing to keep the monsters at bay."
I was hearing Shigeru's words as I took them to heart. I was ready to face the fort on Gehenna as I was also about to go against the Leviathan threat that had been ravaging from its main base on Harkonnen. We all had to go there to Gehenna as we were all ready to fight the good fight head on. When I sat down, I was feeling the ship take off as I even noticed Kevin, Stuart, and Nicholas coming on board at the last minute. They were also ready to go as they had all the weaponry and Borax at their disposal just to take down the Leviathans soon enough.
"Looks like the weighty debt I owe is about to become a game changer," said Nicholas as he sat down by the piloting station. "It's ironic that I owe you my life, but being under Shigeru, it changed for the better when I was off finding ghosts. Hell, I even know how to salt and burn the bodies while doing it."
"Hey, you're going on your first monster hunt, so stay sharp," said Shigeru.
"So, what are we hunting?"
"We're hunting Leviathans," said Dean. "This isn't the first time that Sam and Shigeru faced them, but it'll be the third time soon enough."
"Well, third time's the charm," I said.
"You spoke like a true soldier," said Stuart as he sat down in his seat. "I knew that you woud go back to Gehenna."
"I may be going back there, but I won't stay there. I'm only going there just to stop the Leviathans from eating our comrades. I won't abandon them again like I did when I left. I'm not gonna let them die again. It's my reasons to redeem myself soon enough..."
And I meant it. So much was at stake as I was ready to go back to the place that I once called home..., or perhaps a chamber of trouble for me, but I had to save the rest of the people in the fort the moment I was ready to be there for them. I had to go there. I had to save my comrades from such a terrible fate. It was my reasons to help them the most, for the battle against the Leviathans was about to heat up really soon...
Reiko was sitting in the clearing as she was pining to see me once again the moment I returned. With her pregnancy showing, she was clutching at her stomach as she felt the twins moving. She wanted me to feel at her the moment I came back as she was starting to miss me already. When she saw the Hunter Corps ship take off from a distance, she shed a tear as she wanted me to be safe from harm. It wasn't long until Magda came along as she elected to stay behind just to watch over her until Dean and I returned from our mission. Even though she wanted to come along, but she stayed behind here at the castle as she didn't want nothing bad to ever happen to Reiko on the spot. She was a soldier that stood her ground, for she was ready to stand guard until we returned from Gehenna soon enough.
"Well, there they go," she said.
"Sammy..., please be alright," said Reiko.
"He'll be fine. All I worry about is Dean getting his ass kicked around by those Leviathans."
"I hope that he's alright, too."
Reiko continued to watch over the sky as she was praying for all of us to return safely. She was hoping to see me once again as she even watched the leaves blowing from the trees. Autumn was here as it was also time for both the harvest and school. When she saw Dirk come home from school, he was willing to look after her just he looked after his mother. It was the least he could do since we took him in as he was ready to go into the interior house.
"Where's Sam?" he asked.
"Sam's on a mission right now," answered Magda. "He'll be back when it's over. Let's hope that he's safe from what's being thrown at him."
"Where is he, anyway?"
"He went to Gehenna," said Reiko.
"Gehenna? I heard about that place. It's always a frozen wasteland there. That's when my dad disappeared. Still, I pray for him, but I doubt that he could still be alive right now."
"Dirk..., it will be dinnertime soon. I'll go and make something for all of us."
Reiko assured everyone that she would make dinner for tonight as she was going back into the kitchen. The autumnal wind blew as her long hair was billowing in midair. She missed me badly until she noticed that an earring was missing from her left ear. She had a feeling that I took it, but she didn't mind it as she was hoping that I would come back safely...
I was in my quarters as I was staring at the window in space. I was going back to Gehenna as I was ready to go and save my comrades from certain death. Fishing into my trenchcoat pocket, I took out the earring that I removed from Reiko's ear before I left as I was staring at the blue jewel that dangled from the silver stud. I wanted something to remind me of my wife as I would see her once again the moment I get back to Alecrast. I was starting to worry about her as I vowed to protect her when I got back from my mission. I had an idea as I found a long string on the table. It was a tough leather one that did nicely as I used my telekinesis to fashion the stud end into a loop. When I put it through the string, I simply put it around my neck as I tied the string tightly. I wore the trinket as I hid it in my shirt, for I didn't want to be embarrassed about wearing the earring out front. When I left my quarters, I was making my way towards the bridge as I was seeing everyone at work while the ship itself was in warp drive. When we reached a warping point, we took the chance as we went through and came out towards the frozen planets of Rietza and Gehenna.
"Well, Sammy, we're back in the lion's den again," said Dean.
"I know, but we can't let our comrades die under the Leviathans' cruelty," I said.
"We're lucky that we found a warp point, but we should watch out for the Army of Cain."
"They can't reach here, but their familiars often hide in the domed cities on Gehenna."
"Hey, we're on a mission right now, alright, but I forgot something..."
"What did you forget?"
Dean was wondering where his "Raise the Steaks" shirt would be until he realized something. Magda took it without telling him, but he didn't mind it, for he would come back and take it again along with the rest of her. I saw him smile as he was thinking about Magda so readily, for he would see her again soon enough...
By the time we landed on Gehenna, we all got out as we were bundled up and armed with our weapons at our disposal. We were surveying the fort as I led the way in front of it. The place itself brought back memories for me as I remembered every single day being here as a servant and cataloguer for many years. I saw the gate that was repaired as it had been damaged once since the Wendigo attack that occurred in my absence. By the time we got in there, we had a feeling that danger was lurking in the shadows after we saw the place empty. Still, I was scanning the fort as it was nearly repaired when the Wendigo attack occurred months ago.
"So, this is the fort," said Shigeru.
"It's where Dean and I were taken to after our father's funeral," I said.
"It's frosty here, but it's gonna be hell when we have to go up against those Leviathans," said Dean.
"I know those memories here very well." I was walking further into the main interior house as I went towards the doors. "It's a place of hell for me, but I always made sure that you were trained to be a soldier back then."
"Sam, where are you going?"
I didn't answer as I opened up the doors to the main interior house. The place was empty as it became a huge derelict. There was no one there as I surveyed the main hall. It was the place where I helped out with the servants as I later went towards the mess hall. It was also empty as I saw some of the tables turned over. Something had taken the surviving comrades as I feared the worst ahead. In a bit of nostalgia, I walked towards the window as I saw the same table where I ate at most of my life. It was something that I didn't see for a long time until now as I had all those memories that I could muster.
"I guess that you ate by yourself all the time," said Shigeru.
"I always ate at that table by the window," I said.
"It was always like that," said Dean. "Every year, Sam educated himself with all the books here in the fort, but every time he tried to push himself out of the hole he was in, he got shoved back in there by Sylvanus."
"According to Colchuvar, Sylvanus was always a hard-ass," said Shigeru.
"He was more than just a hard-ass. Every day, he got on Sam's case because he viewed him as someone that could never amount to anything. Every day, he punished him for things that he did out of curiosity. Hell, he even made him sleep in the chicken house for writing on one of the tests that were given to us soldiers. Sometimes, I tried to defend my little brother, but he always brushed it off like it never happened, but I know that it did. In a way, I'm glad that Sylvanus got killed so he wouldn't torment Sam again, but I'm not happy that his kids have sided to Abaddon's side so they can bring harm to my brother."
"Dean!" I yelled. "Now's not the time to be complaining right now. All we need to do is to find any possible survivors here that weren't taken by the Leviathans. Now, shall we get going?"
Dean nodded as I continued to lead the way into searching for possible survivors that didn't get caught by the Leviathans. With the team going into separate rooms, I was searching the inner corridors as I was going towards the way where my room was. It had been in repairs since the Wendigo attack as I found the secret compartment that I discovered before I was banished by Sylvanus. It was intact as it had all the knowledge I delved into once before. Even though I wanted to go in there to look around, I kept going as I went towards my room. It was empty as it was also cold from the weather. It brought back memories as I had been huddling in bed after having dinner and getting a bath, for it was something that I got used to.
When I left my old room, I continued to search for more clues as I saw footprints on the ground with the black ooze that came from the Leviathans that invaded here. Someone was here as I continued to follow the trail to where the footprints were leading to. I was hot on the trail as I also saw blood on the floor. It was a trail of it as I followed it into a different corridor where some of the barracks were. The place was in maintenance after the Wendigo attack as I found several doors broken. There was also the sight of carnage as I saw a dead body that was eaten when it I found it sprawled on the floor. The Leviathans had a little snack before leaving as they were determined to turn the rest of the survivors into the perfect food source, no thanks to the efforts of SucroCorp, that is. When I went into the recreation room, I found it to be empty as well as I wanted to find any survivors right away. Little did I know was that someone was watching my every move as I later turned around to see.
It was Sadie as she was different when she was standing in front of me. I had a feeling that something was wrong as her eyes flashed a glossy black. She was possessed by a demon as she was being used by that unholy thing inside her. I had a feeling that I would end up fighting her in such a derelict as this fort, for it was about to get ugly in mind...
To be continued...
