God, Demon, and Death

Story by Philisophical_noone on SoFurry

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#16 of Fallen Sky Tales

Sent out to find and eliminate a gang of 50 "Dantes" but can that be possible?


"Jill, what's the situation?"

Jill looked over the data, "I'm... not entirely sure how to interpret this data. A bloodthirsty gang of 50 Dantes. This can't be a good sign."

"Good enough, everyone get ready, take cover as soon as the smoke is out. Besides, there is only one of me. Chey and Titus will move first and deploy a thorough screen. Don't forget the heat signatures. Jill, Cratis, and Miss Star will follow, then Ratchet. I want suppressive fire. I'll make my move when I see an opening."

"Roger that." As soon as the Albatross docked Zero Unit made their move. Everyone got off the ship and behind adequate cover on the rusted energy/agriculture station. The rust seemed to give off light, making the entire area look eerie.

"Two people ahead Dante. They look like they're waiting for us." Ratchet was completely still.

"Alright." Dante took a few steps on the creaking floor, "What? Dammit!" The floor gave way, and he fell. He heard shouts of his name, but that was the last thing on his mind. The narrow hole stripped him of all firearms, he only had his combat knife left. Not to mention he hit every rusted pipe on the forty foot drop.

His body slammed onto the hard ground, but his shields held, so not much damage was done. Dante looked around without moving his head, "Welcome Dante, it's a pleasure." He counted 48 armed people, the other part of the gang, "Well, stand up. I'm not going to kill someone lying down."

Dante pulled himself to his feet while drawing his combat knife, "So, a clever but highly situational trap, or just a convenient hole?"

There were 48 armed men, in full armor, taking cover behind pipes, walls, and whatever else. A man in the back spoke, "Just a hole. Makes our job easier though."

"Ah, so you are like me. You admit when it wasn't your doing. That being said, I can't let you live." Gunfire erupted from above, "Well, say goodbye to those men."

The 48 soldiers laughed, "Really? You think your crew can handle even one of us?"

Dante chuckled softly, but just loud enough that they could hear, "They stalked me, pinned me down, imprisoned me, shot me. Your men stand no chance. Neither do the rest of you."

"Any last words?"

Dante took a deep, serene breath. They may have the upper hand, but he had been in worse situations. He used his peripheral vision to identify a few possible targets, mostly the still active gas lines. His shields would hold for a few seconds under the concentrated gunfire, and the reflected shots would take out a few of them, but the fire was his main weapon, "I hope you've made peace with your lives."

The men took better aim as Dante burst forward. He used a crumbled desk as a launchpad to leap up and slice through the gas pipes. The bullets that hit him bounced right back, taking them all off guard and igniting the fuel. Dante dashed through the flames to open as many as he could before he attacked. The sea of fire clouded visions, even his own, but they served his purpose. Something exploded, and his head jerked hard to the left. Pain shot through his face, but he didn't care. It was him, or them.

....................................

"Dammit! Keep down!"

Radio contact came in, "Flash detected!"

Titus shouted over the gunfire, "Flash!" Zero Unit turned their heads and covered their eyes as the grenade went off.

When the glow faded, Ratchet was the first to look up. One of them was charging, and was a few steps from Chey's position, "Chey stay down!" She raised her sniper rifle, but the man turned and fired. Ratchet was hit three times in the shoulder, but she was able to pull her trigger and hit the man between the eyes, "AHH!" Her shields stopped only two of the incoming rounds, the third hit her right in the joint. Firing her rifle dislocated her entire arm.

Someone dragged her behind a thick wall, then Ratchet saw Miss Star turn off her cloak, "Are you alright?! What's hurt?!" She scanned over Ratchet and saw her loose arm, "Alright, hang on. This will hurt like hell..." The round went through, but Miss Star couldn't set the shoulder with a hole. She pulled some gel out of her leg pouch, then stuck the barrel of her pistol longways into her mouth so she could bite, "Ready?" She coated her finger in the gel and jammed it into the wound.

Ratchet screamed and bit down hard, but the effects were instantaneous. Miss Star waited for the bone and muscles to heal, then quickly set her shoulder back in the right spot, "Okay, I'm fine..." Ratchet pulled her sidearm out, "I'll make them pay..." The women rejoined the fight, "Jill, move up with Chey, her radio isn't working. Tell her to throw me an Angel Grenade."

"Got it." Jill fired a few rounds and dove next to Chey to give the orders. Chey tossed an unactivated one to Ratchet.

"Everyone, suppressive fire. On the reload, I'm moving in." Titus looked concerned, but nodded. Ratchet waited for a moment, until both of the target's guns were empty, "Now!"

Ratchet ran faster than she had ever run. The man was shocked at the sight of her and stumbled a bit. Ratchet shoved him against a wall, lifted his helmet, shoved the grenade down his throat, and put the helmet back before kicking him away. The man struggled with pain just before the Angel Grenade detonated. He was split in two, his blood splattered all over, "Alright, Let's move. Dante is down there, it doesn't sound good. Ratchet, you good to go?"

She nodded, "Of course, they'll all pay."

Chey took the lead, "Alright, keep your eyes open."

.......................................

Dante had cut through two of them, but the bullets kept coming, "I will dance on your corpses..." He stabbed one more, but his knife broke off inside the man's skull. He saw a handle on the ground and picked it up, "Right, this used to be part agriculture..." The rusty scythe was perfect for reach and heavy enough to make an impact.

"Don't lay off the trigger!"

"Bullets can't save you!" Dante swung the scythe.

There was a short ceasefire. The man who was giving the orders paused as five heads rolled to his feet, "You monster... kill him you cowards!" The man fired into Dante's silouette which appeared to have wings, but only hit his right arm. This didn't slow Dante down in the slightest, in fact he seemed faster as he sliced through the gang.

"Come on! You were talking so big earlier! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!!" Dante was a living whirlwind, every swing connected to another in smooth moments. It was a dance to him, "Come on! I've fought armies by myself! You little pissants aren't worth my time!" He readied his scythe and charged at the leader.

Instead of a cut, he kicked him down, "What are you?!"

"I'm a God to you!" Dante buried the scythe into the man's skull, "That's it? They thought I could be stopped... pathetic." He pulled the scythe free and walked down the corridor. The part not filled with a sea of blood and flame.

Unfortunately, he was much more injured than he thought. He still hadn't checked what hit his head, and he did have a quite a few bullet wounds. A sliding door creaked open despite the rust, "Good, something on this heap is working." His energy was quickly leaving, and he was beginning to drag his feet. It got to a point where Dante couldn't walk anymore, so he fell onto an old desk, "Good as any... rest my... eye..."

He strength left him entirely, even his vision began to blur. His thoughts were absent, "So this is death..."

There was a strange sound. Banging. He did remember seeing a door that blended into the walls, but then again the banging could be the afterlife welcoming it's prize, "Dante!"

Jill was the first one through the hole made by Chey and Titus, as she was also the thinnest. She saw an unconscious Dante, blood dripping from his fingertips. There was a length of pipe sticking out of his left eyesocket and through his skull, not to mention the bullet holes and major burns, "We need a medic! Now!"

Ratchet was the next one through the hole, "Dante! Wake up!" She put her ear close to his nose and mouth, "There's movement in the air, but not much! Cratis! Get your ass over here, we need to move him!"

Chey and Miss Star had retreated to inform Rachel already, and Titus was working on making the hole bigger, "Dammit... how is he alive? Are humans this resilient? I'll contemplate later, put him on my back." Jill and Ratchet moved Dante as carefully as possible even though he wasn't losing any more blood, "That's not good, his wounds aren't healing. We need to move fast."

Jill and Ratchet led Cratis through the halls and doors, followed by Titus. Luckily they had already blasted through the broken doors and walls, so that saved time. Even after they made it to the Albatross, none of them felt relieved. Dante was a lifeless mess of a man, they didn't have the right to celebrate.

.............................................

Two hours later, Dante was in no better condition, "I swear, it's good that I ordered one of these chambers." Rachel was referring to the massive 'medical tube' filled with a special type of gel. These were reserved for major trauma victims, "This isn't any time to joke, but I thought of Dante when I put in for one of these."

Ratchet was lying on a bed. The medical gel from earlier healed up her arm a little, but it was still weak and fragile. She got some special treatment to fully heal the joint, "So do you think he'll be alright?"

Sere and Mira entered the room, "Well, I removed the pipe and any scraps of metal I found, but as a doctor I'd have to say that he has no chance. On the other hand, this is Dante we're talking about. So I have no clue."

Sere was frozen in place, "What's the matter?" Mira was genuinely concerned, "He is still alive and he will pull through."

"He's... he's... I didn't think he was... I mean..." Sere pointed at Dante.

Rachel followed her finger, "Oh, naked. Well how else would he heal? Besides, it's just flesh, you can't even see bone anymore."

"At least we got his weapons and Anima before we left. Hey, doc, is that machine supposed to be shaking?" Ratchet was watching the tube rattle slightly.

Rachel flipped through a book lying next to it, "Uh... no?" Dante's eye was open, "AH! Dante! You shouldn't be awake!"

He blinked a few times and took a look around. He couldn't communicate still but he could see. His head bobbed a bit, then he shut his eye, "Is he... alright?" Ratchet was concerned.

"I think so. I'll be honest, I don't know what Dante is, but I'm starting to doubt he's mortal."

A tense hour passed, then the fluids drained from the tank. He was now supposed to be put on bed rest until his wounds fully healed, but then again, "Dante! What's going on?!" Everyone was in the room, and they all saw Dante walk out of the tank under his own power.

He saw their shock, "What? Never seen a walking corpse before?"

Mira rolled back a bit, "Naked... and wet."

Dante rubbed his head, "Is this shit gonna come off sometime? It feels weird."

Rachel nodded, "Uh... y-yes..."

Titus looked away, "Uh, everything alright? Nothing hurts? Also, how are you standing?"

"I don't know the specifics, but the muscles in my body are working in unison to help it fight gravity and stand up. Someone get me a towel or something." They all stood still, "Fine, something on your minds?"

Jill hugged him, "We... thought you were dead. You weren't breathing, you weren't moving, you weren't even bleeding."

Wendy was hiding behind Chey now (the closest person to Jill), "Are you okay?"

Dante yawned, "Fine. A bit bored. I thought that was supposed to be difficult. I took them out with a knife and a rusted piece of farm equipment. Now, towel or pants or something. Move it!" Everyone frantically looked around, then dashed out of the room to find anything. Jill, Chey, and Wendy stayed though.

"Uh, Dante. Don't let the others know I said this but... you were amazing out there."

"A compliment from Chey? That's new. And Jill, you can let go now."

She giggled nervously, "I'm... stuck."

Wendy was still averting her eyes, "Um, why did you fight like that instead of run?"

Dante looked around, "Well, these are my people. I will protect them no matter what, same on Earth. Besides, any good commander would at least try to fight back. I'm more of a demon, so losing wasn't an option for me. Didn't you hear how much trouble they had with two of those bastards? If I died they'd be killed in a heartbeat."

"Hey! They were like you... or... what we thought was like you. The real you made them look like kids." Chey patted Wendy on the head, "You see, Dante is a psychopath with a heart of gold. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be dead. Jill, remember our first mission with him?"

Jill snuggled up to Dante, still pretending to be stuck, "Mhm. We would have been slaughtered. He's a hero if I ever saw one."

Cratis entered the room, "Here, Titus tossed me this robe then he went to go vomit I think... I'm not sure he expected to see you in that bad of condition on the station." Dante put on the robe, "So... everything alright?"

Dante nodded, "Yeah. Jill's pretending to be stuck." She gasped, "What? It's goo, not cement. And you're a horrible actor. I'd rest in a bed, but I'm too busy not being dead. Cratis, did the payment come through?" She nodded, "Alright. Tonight we'll have a party. You all did good. I'm going to start drinking now if you don't mind."

They watched Dante casually leave the room as though nothing was the matter, "I've heard stories you know." The three women turned to Wendy, "About Dante. They said he was a god walking on the Earth, or that he was the personification of Death, or he was a demon. They all used the same words no matter what they called him. And the others started to fear him. But my mommy told me, that if I ever needed help I could look for him. Before that happened, I got caught."

"Right, Cratis, you weren't on Earth for that mission. We had to look for some mappers, and then we needed to find some raiders and save this village's kids that were taken. She was the only... well not the only survivor... but the only one that made it back."

Wendy shook her head, "There was nobody else. Just because someone is breathing doesn't mean they are alive. They were all dead inside, where it matters. But Dante saved me twice. I begged for anyone to help me, and he got sent. So... I owe him."

"I understand what you're saying child." Cratis was no stranger to kidnappings and violence against youth, "Dante is a bit of a blessing and a curse when you think about it. If you're against him, you'll die. If you're with him, you'll have half the universe out to get you. All in all, I'm gonna fight with him. The entire universe is no match for Dante."

"I hear that Cratis. Besides, he lets me use things that go boom. What's not to like?" Chey laughed.

"I bet... he's a nice guy on the inside. I wish we didn't have to fight so much, he needs some time to relax. And I'm pretty sure that beach isn't doing it. Hey! Let's stop by a dock and pick up some things! Party streamers and alcohol and stuff."

Wendy was shifting around, "What does he like?"

The women tried to think, "You know, we've never really had a chance to ask him."

Sonne

Dante was stumbling around blindly, as his eyepatch was on the wrong eye, and all he could see is what Angel's gun was pointing at. Since a wall was no use, he kept both eyes shut, "Dante, wouldn't it be logical to change the position of your...

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The Fall of Fallen Sky

Dante stood in the cleared area in front of the Fallen Sky headquarters. He was wearing his "Clothes Armor" (That's what Sere called it at least), had his rifle on his back, pistol on his left, Anima on his right, and a large knife in his boot. It was...

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Dante opened his eye and found that he was in an unfamiliar place. Grass, trees, flowers, a gentle breeze carrying a sweet scent. None of this made sense. He had an urge to jump up and defend himself, but something kept him on the ground. The most he...

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