The Strength of a Soldier: Male Reader x Pyrrha Nikos (Part I)

Chapter I: A Call to Arms

A pair of double doors burst open as General James Ironwood, head of the Altas military, makes his way throughout the military's premier science facility. Trailing behind him are two other individuals, Winter Schnee, the eldest child of the Schnee family and Ironwood's right hand, and a Dr. Crabbe Allwissend, the head scientist and chief researcher of the compound. Ironwood and Schnee walk at a brisk pace, though not without purpose. The doctor on the other hand is tripping over himself as he tries to keep up.

"General, I must insist!" He states urgently, trying to capture the General's attention. His lab coat flaps behind him as she struggles to keep up with the pair of military personnel. "The subject is not ready to be removed from cryogenesis. Removing him now could have various unpredictable, not to mention potentially dangerous results. I urge you to reconsider!"

Ironwood ignores the doctor's protests and continues on his path through the building. As he marches through an active laboratory, several of the white lab coated scientists turn their heads curiously to watch him through their goggles. Passing by a wall of caged Beowolves, the General and his lieutenant step into an elevator at the end of the room, followed by a very disgruntled Dr. Allwissend. As the doors to the elevator close and the trio begin their descent downwards, the doctor readjusts his jacket before speaking again.

"General, I'm telling you the subject cannot be awoken!"

"This isn't up for discussion Dr. Allwissend." The General says firmly.

The elevator stops at the bottom floor, subbasement 17, and the three step out. A pair of thick metal doors stand in the way of making any progress throughout the floor. A pair of mounted turrets hang from the ceiling on either side of the doors. The turrets automatically home in on the three new arrivals and follow the General's movements to the small panel next to the door. Removing his gloves, the General places his left hand against the panel. A line of blue light passes over his hand before the panel goes green. Moving to the left slightly, Ironwood opens his eye and stares at a retinal scanner in the wall. The final hurdle is an access code which he quickly punches in. The doors open with a hiss. Putting his gloves back on, Ironwood steps into the room. The three walk past aisles of confidential scientific undertakings and sensitive experiments. Passing by a table of schematics, the blueprints headlined M-374, Ironwood and Schnee stop in front of a large metal container. A series of computer screens and panels stand to the right of the container, each providing unique sequences of numbers. Walking up to it, Ironwood uses a gloved hand to wipe away the frost that has formed on the glass. As the rime melts away, the three gaze upon the subject on the other side of the glass. Laying inside is a tall, muscular, (H/C) haired man. He is donned in only a pair of military pants, leaving his scarred chest exposed. His eyes are closed and his lips blue, but the most noticeable feature is the individual's lack of an arm.

Standing back, the General turns to the doctor. "Wake him up."

"General." Allwissend pleads. "For the last time, the subject cannot be awoken! There are still a multitude of tests we need to run before we can be certain it's safe to wake him. And that's just concerning his physical condition, nothing to say about how mentally stable he is!"

"Have the basic tests all been completed?" Ironwood asks.

"Yes, but..."

"Then wake him up." Ironwood interrupts. "It's been 80 years, he's been asleep long enough."

"But..." Doctor Allwissend falls silent when he sees the look on the General's face.

"Tell me Dr. Allwissend." Ironwood says in a threatening tone. "Do you like your job? Do you enjoy being the head scientist of this facility."

"Yes, but I..."

"Then wake him up. Otherwise you can forget being head scientist. In fact, you'd be lucky to still be addressed as 'doctor'."

Taking an audible gulp, Dr. Allwissend reluctantly moves to the computers. After a few seconds of rapid typing, the inside of the cryogenic pod begins to glow a warm yellowish orange as the ice on the outside melts. The front of the pod splits horizontally down the middle into two panels which slide upwards, releasing a hiss as the air inside rushes out. The doctor stands off to the side as Ironwood approaches the man inside. Winter inhales sharply as the General reaches up towards the man's face. Suddenly, the man's eyes snap open and he reaches up and grabs the Generals wrist with his one remaining arm. Twisting his arm around, the man jumps out of the container and lunges at Ironwood. Ducking under Winter's sword, the one-armed man kicks her in the stomach and tackles Ironwood to the ground. Reaching inside the General's jacket, he grabs the silver pistol and scrambles to his feet. Side stepping another attack from Winter, he spins around her back and places the barrel of the gun to her temple.

"Drop your weapons." The man says. "I said drop it!"

Winter drops her sword and raises her hands, the gun still aimed at her head. Dr. Allwissend ducks behind the computers while General Ironwood slowly raises his hands in front of his face in a defensive position.

"Easy there, soldier." He says, slowly approaching. "Put the gun down."

"Stay back!" The man shouts, pointing the gun at Ironwood who stops in his tracks.

"Son, I'm gonna need you to relax." Ironwood continues. "Just breathe, and let's take a moment to talk."

The man shows no sign of calming down, continuing to switch his aim from General Ironwood to Winter. As he switches his aim again, Winter takes her opportunity and elbows the man in the face. Quickly picking up her sword, she turns on the recently awoken man. Slightly dazed, the man shakes his head and points the gun at Winter, stopping her as she is about to approach him, most likely to take him down.

"Winter take it easy." Ironwood says, hands still in the air. "Let's not scare our friend any more than he already is."

Ironwood starts to slowly approach again.

"Stop!" The man shouts. He raises Ironwood's pistol and points it as his own head. "I won't let you take me!" He cries. "I'm a good soldier! I'll kill myself before I tell you anything!"

"Easy soldier, easy." Ironwood soothes. "No one's going to harm you. My name is General James Ironwood. I'm the head of the Atlas military."

"Atlas?" The man asks in panicked confusion. "What is Atlas? There is no Kingdom of Atlas."

"Soldier, you've been gone for a long time." Ironwood explains. "Following the war, the capitol city was moved to Atlas and the Kingdom of Mantle was renamed the Kingdom of Atlas."

"You mean..." The man lowers the gun slightly. "You mean the war ended?" Dropping the gun, the man falls to his knees and begins to sob. "Oh God, is it finally over? Am I finally dead?"

Slowly walking forwards, Ironwood snatches the gun from the ground and replaces it in its holster. Crouching next to the crying man, Ironwood removes his jacket and wraps it around the man on the ground. "At ease solider." He says. "You're home now."

Author's Note:

The character Dr. Crabbe Allwissend was inspired by the fairy tale Dr. Know All (German: Doktor Allwissend) written by the Grimm Brother's in which a peasant named Crabbe claims to be a doctor who knows all.