Hey, what's up everyone? This is Flower1815 here bringing you the next and newest stallment of the MLTS series, the long awaited sequel that is "Always Gold". Oh man I am really excited about this one you guys. I am having so much fun writing this story and developing these characters and finding fun ways to display the submitted ocs, I can't wait to show you the rest of the fic. Friendly reminder that this story is going to follow the usual schedule of once every two weeks like always, as most of these chapters are already written, and if you haven't read the previous works "My little test subject", "Rise of the Rebellion" and "The Engagement" then I recommend you catch up on those ones first before reading this one.
Also, heads up! This is a fictional war story; sensitive topics will be displayed throughout the plot. Reader discretion is advised.
So with that being said, thank you guys so much for sticking by me for the last six years I have been writing this series, I appreciate your support so much, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see ya'll later! ;)
The world has been at war for the last five years.
Five long exhausting years.
Ever since the Red Army first rose and took the whole world by surprise – claiming five major nations in the process; Norway, being their main base of operations – the globe has been plunged into war. Several nations have fallen since the start of the conflict, and some have decided to go neutral. No one had been expecting it or were even prepared to deal with the rising threat of the Red Army as they ravaged mercilessly through the land, claiming everything in their path.
And no one was more pleased by the progress of the Red Army than the mastermind behind it all, The Red Leader.
With some of the big players out of the war and on their side from the very start, the Red Army remained unopposed for the most part. Not like the other nations could do much against them to begin with, what, with a powerful bioweapon fighting for the Red Army. Red Leader almost felt sorry for the poor chaps who thought they could actually stand a chance against him. Not really, though. He gave them the option to peacefully surrender and they dare resist him!
Those people made their bed, now they can lie in it.
Although, truth be told, Red Leader wished the takeover would be way faster than this, unfortunately there had been… complications.
Regardless, progress is progress, and Red Leader couldn't deny a winning streak when he sees one.
His army was winning. His soldiers were flourishing, and the big changes he had set out for the world were already taking shape before his eyes. Truly, with the way things were going, he half expected to be met with no challenge whatsoever and win by a landslide.
Or so he thought...
Red Leader massaged his temple with his robotic fingers. The Generals have come together in the control room for an emergency reunion. Each General had brought one Lieutenant from their division as backup.
To his right, Paul sat stoic as always, with Lieutenant Yanov often checking his communicator; presumably for updates on the infirmary affairs. Patrick, his most trusted General, sat to his left drumming his fingers anxiously on the table as he waited for the meeting to start. His choice for Lieutenant was a quiet, younger girl who seemed ready to write down everything that happens in her little notepad; Red Leader never caught her name.
General Yuu didn't seem to get the memo, or simply didn't care what others thought, because he brought AK with him to the meeting. Usually Red Leader would forbid the involvement of someone so young participating in such important army matters, but he knew the kid has been of great help to the Korean General running the Engineering and Research department so he couldn't really be bothered to complain when the kid was so well-behaved.
General Erica had a Lieutenant with her that was almost as intimidating as her if that were even possible. A tall and lanky woman with pale skin, shoulder-length wavy brown hair with a white streak poking out from underneath her red beanie, with a long scar stretched out across her face from the lower left to her right eye, and a cool, calculating gaze. Red Leader couldn't recognize her as a person of interest straight away, but he was intrigued by Erica's choice of Lieutenant nonetheless.
Keaton had summoned some generic guy to attend the meeting, who looked just about as equally disagreeable as his General. And of course there was General Helene, who brought a fidgety man with dark skin and shaggy hair, whose eyes darted around the room anxiously.
Once all the Generals and their Lieutenants were all accounted for, Red Leader pressed the communicator button on his robotic arm. "Bring him in."
The heavy set of double doors to the control room slowly pushed open, and Bing walked right in; arms folded neatly behind his back, a huge grin on his face, and chin lifted as though he owned the damn place. Red Leader heard a low growl from his Commander, knowing his distaste for the mad scientist, but he nudged him to keep his cool. He doesn't like Bing any more than he does, but they need his services.
For now.
Behind Bing, Larry appeared, struggling with a set of chains as he heaved test subject #1827 into the control room.
Red Leader couldn't help but smirk once he caught sight of their prisoner; wearing an orange jumpsuit with his number tag, his blond hair long and wild and unkempt, he adorned several more scars on his face, and a steel muzzle firmly set on his mouth to keep his annoying silver tongue in check.
Test subject #1827 has been serving the army as their secret weapon for the last five years. That is, when he was not too busy getting experimented on by Bing and Larry. It took some time but Red Leader and his two most trusted soldiers managed to cover-up Tom's previous involvement with them by convincing the other Generals, and by extension the rest of the organization, that the annoying Irishman everyone disliked was in fact their secret weapon.
Reagan was properly punished for his insubordination by becoming their little tool of war and guinea pig to the resident mad scientist of the base.
Insolent green eyes surveyed the room with icy calmness as the test subject was forced in front of the Generals and his leader.
Truth be told, there is absolutely no need for the pesky test subject to be at all present in this meeting, but Red Leader enjoyed flaunting him about the base; parading him in his chains for all to see what became of him.
"Red Leader," Bing greeted with a salute.
"What's the status of the secret weapon?" Red Leader asked.
Bing clasped his hands together in excitement. "Splendid, sir! Germany couldn't stand a chance against its acid attack and ferocious temper. He's quite the weapon, you see."
The test subject mumbled something incomprehensible behind the muzzle before Larry tased him. An agonized screech filled the room before breaking off into panting.
Resisting the urge to laugh, Red Leader continued somberly. "And you're certain he displayed no suspicious activity while unleashed?"
Bing blinked. "Suspicious activity? With all due respect, sir, everything he does is suspicious in my honest defense so you're going to have to be a little more specific here."
With a snap of his fingers, Red Leader beckoned General Erica to speak on his behalf.
"We've had reports that some of our new established bases in Denmark have been obliterated." She began, eyeing the scientist distrustfully. "The secret weapon was stationed there in the last few months before our scheduled attack in Germany, correct?"
Bing nodded.
"This is the seventh base of operations obliterated in the last three months. We've had a total of five hundred and thirty six killed and eight hundred and sixty eight injured in the blasts, with strong signs of radiation detected in the areas." She announced. "So far none of the bases targeted have been a major blow to our operation, but it is only a matter of time before our enemy – whoever they are – target our weapon's manufacturer or even one of the main bases."
"And these attacks were only against the Red Army?" Patrick questioned. "No civilians caught in any of the blasts?"
Erica shook her head. "Negative. Only Red Army personnel have been targeted as far as my sources say."
"This is most troubling." Keaton said gravelly. "And your sources cannot identify the culprit behind these strange attacks?"
"We have searched the area for clues and even interviewed eye witnesses and came up empty. We found no trace of bomb residue. No one has any idea how the bases exploded to smithereens, though we have reason to suspect it might be some type of long-range weapon like a laser." Erica reported. "These attacks might be related to the secret weapon as our enemy seems to target wherever they go for long periods of time. And yet, no nation has come forward to claim responsibility for these attacks."
Keaton looked alarmed. "How do they know our moves? Are you saying we are targets right now because this thing is here in the same room as us?"
At his words, the test subject appeared to grin behind the muzzle and snicker, cutting off with a screech as Larry tased him yet again.
Red Leader narrowed his eye and leaned forward on his seat with barely suppressed intrigue. "So… someone thinks they can actually stand up to us, huh? This won't do at all. But I know what we can do to stop these annoying attacks once and for all."
"What do you have in mind, sir?" Erica demanded.
"Before anyone asks, no, Keaton, we're not getting rid of our secret weapon. The world isn't going to take over itself, after all."
He inwardly winced. The familiar words resonating within him as a set of memories from so long ago replayed in his head briefly. Pain stabbed at his heart, and he forced himself to ignore the flashback and keep going.
"It's clear that our enigmatic enemy, whoever they are, knows of our not-so-secret weapon since we made it public with our takeover of Scandinavia three years ago. And they also seem to have realized its greatest weakness is nuclear power." He went on. "So here's what we're going to do. We are going to deploy test subject #1827 to Germany again as planned for our next takeover of France. General Erica, I expect you to choose five of your best agents to escort our secret weapon. From there, we can expect that's where our enemy will attack next, and your agents can get down to the bottom of this."
"But how do they know where we will deploy the monster next?" Yuu asked. "Should we worry about a potential spy in our midst?"
"If there really is a rat in our army we can count on our agents to expose them when the time is right. We can't panic now and start a wild witch hunt. The spy will slip our grasp for sure if we do so." Red Leader murmured calmly, so confident in his army and his plans that the mere thought of a traitor in his own ranks didn't even faze him. He turned to Erica. "Who do you plan to send on such an important task?"
"I already have a few candidates in mind." She assured, dipping her head politely and sharing a knowing glance with her Lieutenant. "I will contact them on their new mission at once."
"Good." Red Leader nodded, turning his sights back on the mad scientist and his unstable, very annoying science project. "Get test subject #1827 ready for his new mission. His carriage leaves at dawn."
"It is as good as done, sir." Bing saluted yet again, beckoning Larry over as he strode out of the control room. "Come along you two, don't lag behind."
Larry frowned but said nothing; knowing arguing is useless against his boss, as he dragged the writhing test subject behind him.
"Meeting dismissed." Red Leader smirked.
The generals adjourned and went along their separate ways. The news of the mysterious attacks seem to have startled some of them, but Tord wasn't worried. They were at war, after all. These kinds of things were to be expected sooner or later, and he was ready to face his adversaries head on.
"You're really not worried about this threat, huh?" Paul murmured knowingly once everyone had already exited the room and it was just them and Pat left.
Tord scoffed and rolled his eye. "Why should I be? If our enemy is too cowardly to show themselves then they don't mean any business. They are just trying to get a rise out of us, clearly." He said. "As for targeting our secret weapon… It is not an uncommon strategy. Whoever they are sees what we are capable of and wants to weaken us. But we're not going to let that happen, or be intimidated by them."
Pat nodded with approval. "Well said."
"So what are you guys planning on doing next?" Tord asked, changing the subject.
"I have to oversee the new schedules this month for our soldiers, and Paul will check out the trainees. Afterwards we are heading down to Oslo to look over decorations and menu for our big day." Patrick said, his eyes glinting with excitement.
It's been six months since the duo became engaged, and the whole Red Army was ecstatic and anxiously awaited their union. Aside from their latest victories in the ongoing war and the progress they made, Paul and Pat's engagement brought a new level of morale boost to the troops.
Tord smiled. "Alright, sounds fun. Off you go."
Dismissing his two closest companions, Tord was left alone in the control room, his smile slowly falling from his face as he sighed, his shoulders drooping.
It's been five years since the war began.
Five long exhausting and lonely years.
With the war going on he hardly has any time to freely interact or relax with Paul and Patrick; and now that the duo are engaged, they have even less time to see each other throughout the day. Which isn't to say he's not happy for them, because he is! It was about damn time they got officially together. But Tord, as the supreme Red Leader and founder of the Red Army, was in his own little bubble away from the rest of his comrades.
He thought the war would be thrilling. A good challenge for him to face – another obstacle for him to conquer in order to fulfill his ambition. And while that was certainly the case most of the time, Tord couldn't help but feel utterly alone. Most days he merely spends his time signing paperwork and planning strategies in the solitude of his office.
There were no sign of any of his friends, either.
He sent soldiers after them to secure their positions, but no trace of them could be found. His agents reported that their homes seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time. Maybe they saw his original transmission at the start of the war, put two and two together, and went into hiding figuring he might come after them.
Tord shouldn't have underestimated those two. Now they are out there, somewhere, on the run; not knowing Tord was only trying to make amends with them.
Sighing, he opened up the communicator feature on his robotic arm. His heart clenched with pain as he saw the dozens of unread messages throughout the last few years.
Tom… where are you?
Ever since the peculiar Brit left him five years ago to carve out his own path, there hasn't been a day where Tord didn't utterly miss him.
They had kept in touch at first.
Tom would send him updates of his travels, and Tord would eagerly absorb all that he had to say. It had been exciting to see his progress as he traveled the world. But some time ago… Tom stopped responding. He wouldn't even view his messages, and that worried Tord greatly.
What became of him? Is he alright out there? Is he mad at him? Or is he…?
Tord shook his head, clenching his eye shut as his heart ached in his chest at the thought of Tom hurt, lost and alone somewhere out there. He needed to have faith that Tom was alright and that one day he would be back with him again. It took everything in him to keep from sending soldiers to search for Tom.
Before the war started, Tord had eagerly anticipated the day the conflict would begin. Nowadays, he mostly looks forward to the day the war will finally end just so he can reunite with his dear beloved Thomas. Hear his voice again. Feel his warm, affectionate touch. Have him be by his side for the rest of their lives, just like Paul and Pat.
Tord's shoulders slumped with a long defeated sigh, gazing longingly at the screen on his arm. "Oh, Tom… where could you possibly be right now?"
(Meanwhile…)
Thunderous explosions rang loudly in Tom's ears, drowning out the sound of the terrified Dutch citizens screaming and running for their lives as enemy planes soared overhead. The air was thick with the scent of stone and dust and the reek of fire and smoke.
The Netherlands hadn't been occupied with Red Army soldiers for very long since the invasion and subsequent defeat seven months ago, but it had been more than alarming enough for neighboring countries to send in frequent air-raids in hopes of stalling the Red Army from invading them next. The problem with that plan is that they were sending planes everywhere but the areas the Red Army was actually stationed at, and harming civilians more than anyone else.
Swerving around the debris on his Harley, Tom carefully scouted the area; alert for any signs of injured civilians.
Damn it. He fumed. This shouldn't be happening to begin with!
If the other countries really wanted to deal some damage to the Red Army then they should know better where to strike the enemy! And the Red Army… Tom grimaced. He didn't want to believe it at first. He tried to remain optimistic despite the alarming radio reports, but he'd seen more than enough with his own eyes to know by now that the Red Army seems to be doing more harm than the actual good they promised.
"Mommy! Mom!"
Tom circled to a sharp stop on his Harley as his sensitive hearing picked up on the cries of a child close by.
He hurried toward the sound, and stumbled across a little girl kneeling next to a patch of debris where a hand was reaching out for her from underneath the wreckage. Muffled hysterical sobbing and pleas could be heard from within.
"Get behind me, kid." Tom gently moved the girl aside as he crouched down to peer into the gap where the hand was coming from. A woman, presumably the girl's mother, was staring back at him in sheer terror.
"Hey, don't move, please! I am going to get you out – just hold on!"
The woman nodded fervently, sobbing.
Tom channeled the buzzing energy inside of him to manifest into his hands alone. They grew wide and sharp and incredibly powerful as he gripped the edge of the broken cement and heaved it up with all his strength. He let the stone crash sideways once he was sure he'd gotten it out of the woman's way entirely.
The woman was so frightened and grateful for his help she didn't even notice his claws carefully gripping her forearm as he helped her out of the wreckage.
"Th-thank you! Thank you!" The woman repeated in a daze. Her forehead was smeared with blood. A nasty gash just above her left eyebrow. She was lucky her wounds hadn't been more serious.
"Mommy!" The little girl hugged her legs and sobbed with relief.
Tom cleared his throat. "You need to head east as fast as you can." He instructed. "There's a facility there that will give you shelter and medical care. You'll be safe."
He would've gladly offered to escort them there himself, but there could be a lot more people needing help around here and Tom wasn't about to leave the area without at least trying to save everyone he could.
He left the mother and child to their own devices without another word. His sensitive hearing picked up on the little girl thanking him under her breath as she bid him farewell.
A building ahead of Tom was shrouded in smoke and seemed on the verge of tipping over as more bombs dropped overhead.
"Is anyone there?" He called out, but the roaring of fire and engines was so loud that his voice was drowned out.
Tom tipped his head forward, hoping to pick up the slightest indication that someone was around and in need of help.
He paced forward but at that moment, with an even louder thunderclap, a bomb went off dangerously close by, sending the already precarious building plummeting to the ground in a heap of smoke and dust.
Coughing, Tom aired away the dust, and as it began to clear he spotted a young boy's panicked face staring out of a gap in the debris. His mouth gaped wide in a silent plea for help.
"Stay where you are, kid!" Tom yowled. "I'm coming – hold on!"
He's gotten pretty good at search and rescue over the years since the war started. It's the least Tom could do. Not everyone is equipped with super-human strength or enhanced senses. Everywhere he went, Tom did his part to help with the war effort; saving innocent civilians and sending them to safety.
But Tom would never admit he had a more ulterior motive for his heroics.
Help! ~
The hushed plea for help echoed inside Tom's brain like a single drop of water falling from the tap against ceramic inside a quiet room; silencing the rampaging disaster roaring all around him.
Help me! Someone please… help me! ~
Tom wouldn't have minded staying far away from the war. He'd been doing… relatively fine in South America until the war finally reached them as well. But that's not what got him to budge in the first place. It had been the presence of a persistent, barely audible cry for help in his mind. At first Tom didn't think much of it. It's weird, sure, but he's no stranger to hearing voices in his head and assumed it was another trick to mess with his head.
But the call had remained even in his sleep, haunting him, never leaving him alone. Tom tried to ignore it but he simply couldn't. It was like an itch, and it beckoned him back to Europe where the eye of the storm raged on. Right dab in the middle of where the war reigned strongest.
Tom had a nagging feeling he already knows where exactly it was leading him to, but he was willing to wait and see for now.
Until then, he will help whoever he can on the way, and hopefully by then it won't be too late to help… whoever it is calling out for him.