Author's Note: I'm back. F**K YEAH! ~Nano
~Nephilim~
May 4th
8:34 am
The Pentagon – Lower Research Labs – Demon Containment Unit
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol
As it turns out, Sonata was many things, but a good animal caretaker was not one of them. Two days after we had brought back the captive demon, it had died in her care. What was more disturbing was that "Everything went as I had planned it." She had said. "The hellhound had indeed given us more information than we possibly could have imagined."
"And if I may ask, what would that be, Doctor?" A man said. Commander Daniel was the person appointed to oversee any and all research and operations concerning the new demon threat. In terms anyone could understand, he was our new boss as of our last mission. "These soldiers put themselves in great risk to get this captive for you, and what do you do? Put implants in its brain and kill it within forty-eight hours."
"Yes, but it was what was inside its head that really bothers me…" Sonata continued. She pulled out a photograph, one that showed many more hellhounds being led by a strange creature. It looked almost human, save for the featureless mask of a face and the strange, alien aura. It carried two swords, and seemed to be giving orders. "This picture seems to tell us that there are powerful beings in these demon's hierarchy that act as leaders. As we have not seen any yet, we can only speculate as to how they act. This photo was directly correlated to this next thought of the subject." She pulled out another photo, but this one seemed ordinary.
"What exactly is new about this photo, Doctor?" The commander asked of her. His voice was powerful, and it was only a few seconds before Sonata answered.
"Look here." She pointed to a small part of the picture, where a hellhound seemed to have been cut in half. She pulled out one last image, and it was an enlarged version of that area.
"Is that… Dante?" I asked, recognizing the whitish hair and the red coat. The weapon he was using was a large gray sword, which would explain why he was reaching for something on his back when we first saw him at the Nightfall base. "Why would this demon have a memory of Dante?"
"He did mention that he fought demons for a living." The now-medically-released Angel commented. "Maybe this demon knows him for killing an ally or something?"
"Regardless, this photo shows that there is indeed a correlation between Dante and these demons. I recommend interrogating him as soon as possible." Sonata said. She took one look at the commander's worried face, and added, "No, not my interrogations. A more… traditional approach. Dante is more valuable to us alive."
"But he hasn't talked to us at all. He's refused to cooperate, and does not communicate to us at all besides showing us the bird." Angel said. "How could we get him to talk?"
"Trust me, I could get him to talk. Ready a training ring for us." Raiden said.
"Why do you need a training ring?" The Commander asked.
"Because I know the type of guy Dante is. A guy who loves action and kicking ass." Raiden replied as he stepped out of the room. "And I'm just like that." I turned to the others, who merely shrugged. The Commander simply nodded, and went to relay commands to a comm. pad. Within an hour, I was standing around an old-fashioned boxing ring in the training area of a compound not too far off from the Pentagon. Around me were the rest of my team Daniel, and about thirty armed guards. In the ring itself were Raiden and Dante, both of them shirtless and staring each other down.
"So, why exactly are you letting me beat the crap out of you?" Dante asked.
"Because I can tell you need to let off some steam. Come on, then." Raiden jabbed forward, but Dante grabbed his arm. The left arm of Raiden then slammed into his opponent's ribs, sending Dante to the ground. "What? You're telling me that the great demon hunter can't take a weak little jab?"
"He'll wish he hadn't said that…" Kat said from nearby. Dante pushed out with his feet, tripping Raiden and causing the guy to slam his head on the mat with a loud *crack* sound. Blood pooled form his face, and even though I wasn't a med expert, even I could tell that nose was broken. Raiden tried to get up, but Dante simply kicked him back down.
"Nobody insults me, what I do, or how I do it." He said. Daniel looked about ready to restrain him when the alarm sounded in the base. "The fuck is that?"
"Sir, transmission from Control." A soldier said, handing a datapad to the Commander. "It's urgent."
"Commander, the demons are attacking several major cities, including New York, Denver, and Los Angeles. We need to scramble strike teams now." The voice hadn't finished speaking before I started giving orders.
"Skye, on me. Angel, you good enough to fight?" I asked. The female soldier simply clutched her still-bandaged ribs, and nodded. "Good. Raiden's in no condition to go, though…" I approached Daniel. "Sir, with your permission, I want Dante to come with us on this one."
"Why is that?" He responded, already giving out orders through his datapad.
"He broke my other operative's face, and he owes the Skyrunnners as a result." I thought for a second, and added on, "Also, we need him to like us, for the sake of the information he knows. If we let him come on a mission with us, he may just become more friendly towards us."
The Commander simply stared for a moment, then shouted, "Dante!" Getting the pale-haired man's attention, he added, "Sargent Dakol here will take you to our armory. Get your ass in gear and get to it. Consider it your punishment for rendering the private over there immobile." He turned to me. "You're headed for New York. Try to avoid civilian casualties."
"Sir, yes Sir!" Skye, Angel, and I saluted before leaving the training room.
~Fifteen minutes later, Harrier passenger bay~
"Ugh. Remind me why I'm wearing this, again?" Dante complained form his spot next to me. He was in standard-issue Kevlar armor, same as what I was wearing, as was Skye. Due to her injury, Angel was in full riot armor – it would limit her mobility, but would increase the chance her stomach wouldn't get worse.
"To protect you. Now shut up so I can focus." Skye said. He was busy cleaning the barrel of his sniper rifle, the rest of the weapon lying at his feet. Angel was reading out of her pocket novel, oblivious to the rest of us.
"Listen, just because it's not your jacket doesn't mean it doesn't work." I said.
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be so tight and ugly and-"He was cut off when a sniper bullet struck his cheek. An unfired one, still in its shell.
"Complain again and the next will come at you just a little bit faster." Skye said solemnly. Dante was silent for the rest of the trip.
~Begin Operation Shattered Apple~
May 4th
4:49 pm
Times Square
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol
"Go, Go, Go!" The Harrier pilot shouted as we touched down. The dense city buildings made our usual method of entry impossible. Once we got onto the pavement, we saw the true nature of what was happening.
"I'm pretty sure that shouldn't look like that." Dante said as he pointed to the streets. The asphalt was cracked, with a dark energy seeping through them. It glowed a dark green, a sickly color of illness.
"Contact. Three blocks west." Skye muttered. "Looks like a big one." The contact in question was a similar demon to the one at the Nightfall facility, flanked by several Stygians. Skye shouldered his rifle, and zoomed through the scope. I followed suit with a pair of binoculars. They appeared to be bowing.
"What the hell… They have allegiance to someone?" There were two figures opposite them. A demon with burning green hair and jet-black skin, and a man with cyan hair and glowing white eyes. The latter was familiar to me. "It's that guy from the Pentagon attack!" Looking around, I noticed a solitary, white haired figure approaching them. "…And Dante. Fuck. Alright, team, move in. Target the demons with killing shots, but the man with the blue hair and the green demon are targets for capture."
A sniper shot rang out, caving in the skulls of three Stygians. I rushed forward with Angel, catching the tail end of a conversation involving Dante. "Siding yourself with humans again, brother? Your mistake will not be made twice!"
The green demon spoke with an alluring voice, almost trancelike. "Come, Vergil. We have what we need from here. Hunter, be a dear and take us back home? And the rest of you, clean up this filth." The large demon, apparently name Hunter, grabbed the two figures and vanished in a puff of purple smoke. There wasn't time to call in that development, however, when the enemy descended upon us.
Skye's sniper rounds were invaluable, as he shot down demon after demon from the wreckage in Times Square. Angel held her own, well enough. Dante and I stood back to back as our shotguns rang out, dropping demons by the dozens. "So, that went according to plan." I said to Dante. "Just waltz up there without the rest of us, expect everything to go your way."
"That's how it worked in the past!" He shouted back, blasting another demon back. "Wish I had my sword, at least."
"Stop whining and start shooting straight!" I ducked underneath the swing of a Stygian's blade-arm, and jammed my shotgun into its armpit and fired. The gun clicked empty afterwards, prompting me to fumble around for shells to reload. "Shit, I'm out!" I yelled, finding none. I threw my shotgun at the nearest Demon, causing a nice dent in its porcelain head. I reached to my thigh, grabbing the sidearm that was there and firing at will.
"Help! Somebody Help!" A voice shouted. It came from the building behind us, as Demons started to pour out of it. The wall burst forth, revealing a very large, and very fat, demon clutching a woman in its hand. "Help me!" Were the woman's last words as the demon squeezed, and threw the limp body aside.
"Fucking Tyrant!" Dante shouted. He and I charged the beast as it charged back. It swiped me away with a single strike, but Dante managed to dodge the attack, circling the beast and blasting his twin pistols into its back. As it turned to face him, I saw why; the thing's back had a video game-esque weak spot, glowing and everything. Aiming up, I shot several rounds into its back before a sniper shot rang out. The Tyrant fell to the ground, its head following not long after.
"Team, there appears to be more enemy signatures in the area. I'm sending in another strike team to assist." Daniel said over the comm. "Sargent, I want you to go in that building and check for other survivors."
"Roger, command. Proceeding with new orders." I headed into the building, not prepared for what I saw. The Tyrant obviously had his fill of carnage, as the dead lay strewn about the building, and rubble littered all over the place. The stench of death almost made me gag, as there was just so much of it. "Hello!?" I called out. "Anyone still alive in here? I'm Sargent Dakol, I'm with the military! I'm here to help you!"
"…please… help us…" a weak sounding voice came. Turning towards it, I saw three young teens, obviously battered and very much hurt. Only the girl who was talking was conscious, her two friends anything but. I shoved aside some of the wreckage, exposing the teens. The girl shakily stood up. Her most striking feature was her bright, piercing green eyes. "Thank you… can you help these two as well?"
"Miss, that's what I'm here for." I said. "Command, this is Dakol. I have survivors, two of them unconscious. I'm requesting evac for them asap." A confirmation went out on the other line, and I turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Trixie, Sir."
Operation Shattered Apple Complete
Operatives KIA – none – Excellent
Demons Killed:
30x "Stygian"
14x "Archangel"
1x "Tyrant"
45 total – Excellent
Civilian Casualties – 37 confirmed KIA, speculated dozens more – Poor
Civilians Rescued - 3 – Good
Overall Evaluation: Good
Sonata's Notes:
Although many civilians died today, I still feel our mission was a success. Not only did we repel the demons, but we also recovered valuable intel on the enemy's hierarchy. Apparently, two figures give out orders – A human-looking man with cyan hair and glowing eyes, who carries a katana, and a demoness with black skin and acid-green eyes, clothing, and aura. The successful live capture of either of these two is of the upmost importance. Meanwhile, I will continue to examine this new specimen recovered. It is most intriguing, as its own subspecies. This… 'Tyrant' will prove invaluable for researching advanced armors for our anti-demon troops.
End of Line.