Orphaned at five years old, the boy who would become the dragon known as Blitz bounced from foster home to orphanage and back again before finally being picked up by Project Draco Research the day before his tenth birthday. He was the youngest to ever be drafted into the project and became attached to John Mason on his first six month mission. The two would go on to be paired together on many missions due to Operation 40 specifically requesting Talon Squad to serve with them on their contracted missions in some of the hottest combat zones in the world.
███"Blitz" ██████
Unknown Location
Unknown Time
"Blitz."
The words reverberated in my skull like a shouted voice in an empty warehouse. Echoing over and over until they faded into obscurity.
"Blitz."
This time, my name was worded as if it were a question. As the human sat down beside me, putting his arm around my neck and stroking my head, like you might do to your dog when he comes and sits in your lap. I wasn't sure where I was...felt like I was laying in some kind of bed. I felt warm, safe...content, my tail swayed against my own control. Through the pets, the human who spoke in a voice that seemed strangely familiar, yet completely foreign, kept prompting me to open my eyes and look at him. I resisted the urge to do so, petrified that I would resume drowning within my own body as soon as I did. I didn't want to face my own death, I wasn't ready. I didn't want to watch my best friend, the closest thing I'd ever had to a father, die because I wasn't fast enough to save him. If I had acted faster, maybe I could have saved him. As if I had spoken my thoughts aloud, the Human hugged my neck stiffly.
"Blitz." The humans voiced continued to be so familiar, yet so foreign, ringing in my ears like I had known this man for years, but I had never met him. Was I dead?
"You're not dead Blitz. Come on bro, open your eyes."
I hesitated, shutting my eyes tighter. I knew now who the voice belonged to.
"John?"
John throttled my neck, chuckling lightly, "Every bit the bone headed stubborn soldier I ever was."
I couldn't stop the tears from streaking down my face, "I'm sorry John! I wasn't fast enough!"
Johnny gave me a good, tight squeeze, "Oh don't worry about it buddy, believe it or not, everything's going to be okay. Why don't you open your eyes? Let me show you huh?"
I took a deep breath in, petrified of what I would see. I cracked one eye open, and involuntarily open the second one when my brain began to process where I was.
I was in fact laying on a bed, in some kind of common area in the biggest library that I had sever seen! The room had a dark ambiance to it, constructed of some kind of dark wood that smelled as if it had been built by someone long gone, but had stood since then through thousands of years of careful observation handed down from father to son. Intricate carpentry adorned darkly stained oak book cases that rose four stories into the air lined the walls, creating aisles that spanned through several floors, rolling ladders attached to reach higher shelves. The carpet under foot was dark red, almost a burgundy color and seemed both, well taken care of, but also that it had seen perhaps a billion pairs of feet over the years it had been here. The common area where I was consisted of my bed, of course, along with a large, expensive looking leather couch flanked by two wooden end tables with old, handmade lamps on each. The lamps put off a dim, warm glow that seemed perfect to read by in the general darkness of the library. A wooden table with a glass top marked the center of the area, a few books about firearms and military tactics had been left out, some of them had book marks in them. John was sitting directly to my right. Strangely, his injuries seemed healed as if they had never happened in the first place. He was wearing his OP40 dress uniform, which, despite some of the things I'd been with him for, wasn't covered in medals or awards. Instead, it took the appearance of a wool suit, colored a dark green with a white shirt and black tie, similar to the US Army uniforms of world war two. It only had a few medals on it, John had never been the type to show off, despite a lot of the men who served with him thinking he had every right to decorate his uniform. I'd only known him for five years, but I'd seen him quietly save so many lives in that time. John gave me another pet.
"I've seen some pretty memorable examples of courage in my years in combat Blitz." He said after a long pause, "I've seen men face insurmountable odds and come out due to the actions of one, and I've seen people loose everything to save their friends. But I've never seen someone face down a cloud of burning white phosphorus, throw all caution to the wind, and tell certain death that today's not the day."
"With all due respect John." I corrected softly, "Tyson was the one who said that. I just did what was expected of me."
"Who expected you to die in a cloud of fire for me?" John asked sternly, "I certainly would never issue anyone under my command such an order."
"No man left behind sir." I stated, "It's right in the army creed."
John chuckled, "This is true. But nevertheless, no one expected you to save me, I certainly didn't. You should have let Hudson go, the phosphorus couldn't have touched them."
"But...I was closer sir."
John smiled and hugged my head tightly, "Stubborn fuckin' kid. You don't know how grateful I am for what you tried to do for me today."
"Tried?" My voice quivered beyond my control, my fucking jaw shook, my teeth threatening to rattle out of my gums.
John smiled, "I guess you were holding onto some false hope. I'm going to die Blitz, probably within the next fourteen to fifteen hours, if I haven't already."
I could only stutter. It was so damn hard to describe my feelings at that exact moment. Like someone had pulled my heart from my chest and replaced all my blood with ice water. I just felt...cold. Empty.
"But...you're all I have! You can't die! I'll be alone! I'm not ready to do this shit on my own!"
"Blitzy..."
I turned at the sound of the woman's voice. To my complete shock, Anni was sitting in a chair behind me! She too had been healed as if her injuries never happened! Like her father, she was dressed in her O4S uniform, a pretty shade of royal blue with a red and yellow braided cord running under her shoulder. Her name tag was on her left side, buttoned above her pocket with a shiny brass pin depicting an AC-130 popping flares with "Dropkick" engraved across the top. Two service medals were on her right, and I'd been there when Hudson and John had given her both of them. She and Dropkick's crew had defended a huge convoy of civilians trying to escape the Taliban for the better part of 24 hours, with the rest of O4s having to pull off a risky refueling and resupply because they refused to leave the area. I sure was thankful to have her watching over me that day.
"Anni..."
She rose from the chair, coming to kneel in front of me, giving me a hug as her father continued to stroke my neck, "Thanks for trying to save my Dad."
"You're dead Anni!" I said, unable to control my sobbing any further and just exploded into the weeping mess I had wanted to when I saw John carry her out of that wreck. John had beaten me to it, I hadn't really been able to process the grief from it yet, "I watched John pull you from the plane!"
"You're not wrong buddy." Anni said softly, "But it's okay."
"It is NOT okay!" I squeaked, squeezing my eyes shut because they stung from how hard I was sobbing, "Nothing about this is okay! You're dead! And because I let him down, now your Dad is too!"
"You didn't let anyone down Blitzy!" Anni assured, "It's okay buddy!"
The two of them held me for what felt like hours as I just...wept. I couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that seemed to be enveloping my soul. No one had ever cared about me the way that John and Anni had...and now they were both gone. I found myself wishing that my own injuries turned out to be lethal. I didn't want to wake up from whatever this dream was. I just...wanted to be done, I didn't want to go back to war. I didn't want to face more suffering, didn't want to fight anymore. Didn't want to see my friend die...didn't want to face my own death.
John and Anni rose after a moment, Anni spoke.
"Blitzy, why don't you come with us huh? Someone wants to meet you."
I rose, following my friends across the library to a set of double doors that opened up into a room the size of a church. In the middle of the room was a huge, solid oak table adorned with silver inlays running from one end to the other. The inlays appeared to be an intricate carving of mountain ranges, the texture was visible from the door. Six wooden chairs with leather cushions and backings lined each side of the table. The floor was red carpet with golden yellow accents, with various shades of grey handwoven into it to make a design that reminded me of the carpet in some of the old pictures I'd seen of government buildings. The woodwork on the walls made my heart flutter in my chest, some of the most magnificent work I had ever seen in wood. Four great pillars cornered the room, two smaller pillars supported the ceiling and second floor of the room in between. The hand carvings on the wood wasn't symmetrical, and in fact, the longer I looked at it, the more I wondered if it might have been some kind of language, and what I was seeing was a story that the carpenters had written down in their work so that it would never be forgotten. The second floor could be accessed by spiral staircases in each of the four corners and were lined with more seats, presumably for spectators of whatever events might be held in a room like this. The railings that guarded the second floor were symmetrical, wooden poles that connected to a brass top that ran the perimeter of the room, the lower half of which appeared to be alive, seeming as though it had been grown first, and then cut and shaped to fit the architects desire. The room was dimly lit by candles flickering in elegant gold scones placed on each of the pillars and along the back walls and along the edges of the room were more hand carved wooden boxes that looked like the boxes that judges would sit in during court hearings. In the back of the room was a grand box, so to speak. A huge, wooden thing with two seats flanking the large middle seat, covered in red velvet and adorned in more carvings that seemed to speak to me. All of this, of course, was not the defining feature of the room.
The defining feature was a large, golden chandelier that was adorned with finely detailed carvings of what appeared to be the solar system and galaxy itself. Small gemstones in every color of the rainbow hanging from finely crafted gold chain glowed softly against the polished gold carvings that told their own story while reflecting the stories written around them. It hung from a ceiling that was like looking into the cosmos, sparking in darkly lit soft colors that very much put my mind and body at ease in a way that I had never felt before. I could not describe just how small and insignificant I felt by observing what hung above my head. Yet, at the same time, I felt so valued and loved just by seeing it, it was the most strange and most welcome feeling I had ever felt. I could only stare in awestruck silence, I truly did wonder if God himself might be somewhere in this building.
"You just feel so small, so insignificant, but so loved and valued when you see it for the first time." Hudson's voice came from around the corner, "I remember when I first set foot in this room, I reacted much the same way you did."
I turned. Hudson was wearing a black suit, black shirt and a black tie. A chrome plated M1911 with dark wood grips was in a beautiful leather holster on his right leg. It was the only time I my life I had ever seen the old man smile so sincerely.
"You three don't understand how happy I am that this day has finally come."
"Finally?" I asked.
"Finally indeed." Hudson said, "Blitz, I personally oversaw your watching, since your Mom left you on the doorstep of that orphanage back in November of seventy six."
"That was Blitz?" John asked in surprise, "I thought we were hunting a KGB spy that night?"
"We were." Hudson said, "Just, I had other objectives then."
Before I could ask any questions of my own, a older Asian man with a long white beard and two long, slender Eastern dragons appeared in the grand box at the head of the room. The dragons sat off to either side of the old man, dressed in the same suit that Hudson wore. Hudson smiled and bowed respectfully.
"Master Otani. It's been a long time."
"One thousand nine hundred and ninety one years if my old brain still serves me correctly. Hudson, why don't you have a seat with your friends? We can get started once everyone is comfortable."
John and Anni sat on one side of the table. Hudson sat on the other. With nowhere for me to really sit, I remained where I was.
"Blitz, won't you join your family at the foot of the table?" One of the silver dragons asked me. Not in a scolding way, but warmly, inviting.
With my ears low, I scooted to the end of the wooden table. Sitting back as prim and proper as someone who mostly lived in the dirt and his own sweat could. Wings tucked tightly against my back, tail curled around my feet, chest puffed out, head raised and gaze directed firmly forward. The female dragon to the human's right chuckled.
"There's no need for that my friend."
I couldn't bring myself to relax even a little bit as the man, Otani, began, addressing John first.
"Johnathan Mason, I am Master Otani. I am the keeper of all of Earth's remaining natural dragons, a number of which continues to dwindle. I have brought you and your daughter here today, because I would like to ask a task of you. A task which we believe you and your daughter are uniquely suited to."
"What would that task be Master?", John asked respectfully.
"I would like for you and your daughter to join the ranks of the dragons. I have a pair of dragons whom can not conceive and bear a child of their own. I have a spell which would allow them to, but without a spirit to give their child, he would die after birth. If you agreed, you would be their son, and, years later, Anni would return to you, as your own daughter again."
John and Anni traded looks.
"How?" John asked.
"This magic was entrusted to me many years ago. I can not reveal it's source, lest it be lost to me forever. I have great understanding that my request is difficult for you to believe, for Hudson did not believe me when I first approached him to ask him to join my ranks as a Guardian. Hudson, why don't you regale your friend with your story?"
"Just don't tell the whole thing, or we'll be here all day." The silver female smiled.
John looked to Hudson. He smiled the most sincere smile I'd think I'd ever seen on him.
"I was fifty five years old when Master Otani first approached me. I had come to learn there was a family of dragons living in the mountains near to where I herded my sheep. The couples children had ventured down from the mountains, adventuring as young dragons often do. They ended up in my field, and one of them had a broken wing and couldn't fly away. Bones all set the same way pretty much, and back then you learned to take care of your animals or you didn't have a source of income. I set the kid's wing, and later on that night the parents came to collect them. Well, that wasn't the last time those kids came down out of the mountains and ended up breaking something. So, eventually, word got back to Master Otani that a human who wasn't hostile to the dragons had been uncovered, and approached me at the market one day. He offered me immortality, in exchange for agreeing to join the Guardians, people who watched over the natural dragons left on Earth, keeping them safe for other people. Me and about ten others have been watching the dragons since then, almost two thousand years."
John seemed to have mixed feelings. A look of shock, sure, but also a look that said he wasn't surprised at all. He just nodded.
"And...what? You think Anni and I would make good dragons?"
"We wouldn't be here if I wasn't absolutely convinced." Hudson assured.
John turned back to Otani, "What about my wife? My two sons?"
Master Otani gestured to the two silver dragons sitting next to him.
"Your wife will return as your mate in the future." The silver female promised, "She will be born to friends of the dragons whom son you will be."
"And my sons?"
"You will meet them again." The silver male assured, "but later in life. We can't cast the spell on humans who aren't close to death."
Anni spoke up now.
"So...my Mom?" She turned to her Dad, "Mom is dying?"
John nodded, "We didn't want to tell you guys that your Mom was sick until we couldn't hide it any more. Danny and Alex are too young, and you were always out with me on combat tours."
John shook his head, "Didn't...your mom didn't want you to remember her by cancer, she wanted her last days with you to just be happy. That's...why we've been taking so many family trips as of late. I was just...hoping we'd be able to get to Hawaii once we were done in Angola. We wanted to celebrate our 35th with you all."
John pulled his daughter close to him, holding her for a moment, "I'm sorry this is how you found out."
The two held one another for a moment, there were no tears shed. At this point, I kind of figured that everyone had reached their limit. John eventually turned back to Otani.
"Master, before we make our decision, is it possible to meet these dragons?"
Master Otani nodded and gestured to the silver male, "Bring them."
The silver male disappeared, returning after a period with two dragons.
The male was a large, dusty brown Mountain dragon who towered over his mate, whom was hiding under his wing. He bristled with pointy spikes and thick grey armor that was adorned with claw marks, scratches and deep craters that looked like they had never healed correctly. Mementos of hard lessons learned I supposed. His scales were rough, reminding me of the scales of bearded dragons more than anything. His ears and wings were rather tattered around the edges and his horns were all kinds of chipped. Takes a lot to chip your horns, and it isn't pleasant when you do. I kind of wondered if he had been a Draco dragon, and that was why he was as torn up as he was. The bones that made up the mask that seemed to cover his head were thick, bristling with razor sharp growths that looked like broken pieces of rock. Didn't think I wanted to take a headbutt from this dude. A gash ripped across his face plate, crossing over his left eye, which was closed, leading me to believe he was either blind in it, or it was gone. His remaining eye was a deep blue, and the look in it seemed to tell the whole story of his life. Years in foster care and bouncing from orphanage to orphanage had taught me what that look meant. This dragon knew what it was like to suffer, kinda seemed like he was just like me. Spent most of his life living in the dirt and his own filth because he had no choice, just kind of made it up as he went. Just kind of looking at him made me think he was the first one to speak up when things weren't right, and the last one to shut up once they were.
His mate was the exact opposite. She was a dark coffee brown all over, she had no chest plates, no spikes, and scales that were smooth all over, like a snakes. I couldn't see her wings, due to the fact she was still kind of hiding. Her eyes were a piercing blue, just like her mate's, although I couldn't really read what she was thinking. She seemed quiet, reserved, but as I had learned in basic training, never judge a book by its cover.
The male was the first one to speak. He sounded young, like he wasn't much older than me.
"You must be John?"
John nodded, "Yes sir, that's me."
"I'm Tanner." The male said. He removed his wing from his wife, "This is Raren."
John smiled, "I understand you guys are having some problems?"
Tanner nodded, I could hear the desperation in his voice, despite his best attempts to hide it, "We've been trying for...I wanna say four years. Just...can't do it You can't possibly understand how happy we are to finally have the chance to talk to you, I...I wish I had the words to express just how grateful I am that you're even considering this. I know that its a lot to take in..."
"The last few people have said no." Raren added. I could tell that she was heartbroken, and seemed have already made up her mind that John was probably going to say no as well.
John shrugged, "All I know how to do is go where I'm needed. I think, that given the events of the past twenty four hours, and everything that Otani and the silver ones have offered...
I could see Tanner and Raren holding their breath as they waited for John to finish his sentence, the hope for a yes was evident in their breathing.
"I think I'd doing my family and friends wrong if I refused."
Tanner and Raren looked like their souls jumped for joy, but their bodies didn't know how to process it, and so they just kind of sat there in awestruck silence. I swear that Tanner's heart might punch through his chest plate. He stuttered as he searched through his vocabulary to try and find the correct words, seeming to find that there weren't any. At least none that could truly express how he felt. Raren leaped forward with a strange noise, grabbing John with both legs and pulling him in for a hug, sobbing hysterically as she did.
"Thank you!" She said between her sobs, "Thank you thank you thank you!"
Anni looked at me and smiled, "Blitzy, what do you think I'll look like as a dragon?"
I couldn't stop a short chuckle from rolling past my lips, "I dunno. Maybe you'll look like a traffic cone like me."
Anni smiled and laughed. After a moment, Raren released John and he looked to Otani.
"Master, how much of my human life will I remember?"
"How much do you want to remember?" Otani asked, "The spell can be cast in many ways."
John turned to look at me, then to his daughter, then back at Otani.
"When the time comes, I want to beable to know who my friends were. I'm sure they'll be looking for me, and if I'm going to have children to protect, I don't want to hurt them."
"I'd like to beable to find Blitzy again too, cool dude." Anni said.
I couldn't stop a tear from streaking down my cheek, guess I still had a few left in me.
"If that is what you wish." Otani said. He gestured to a set of doors behind the female silver dragon, "once you walk through these doors, the spell will be cast."
"Can you give me one minute?", John asked.
"Of course."
John walked to the back of the room, coming to my side. He leaned on the table and took one of the few medals off his jacket. It was a gold medallion with a raven's head on it with a deep blue ribbon, something that was unique to John's uniform, signaling that he was the owner of the company and the leader of Task Force Raven. It was one of a kind.
"This medal is something I made as a joke." John said, "It's the Raven's Ribbon, to be held by the owner of Operation Forty Solutions and the leader of Task Force Raven. I had intended to pass it down to Anni when I retired, with the stipulation she pass it down to whichever one of her children decided to take the company from her. Well...obviously that's not how this is going to work."
He shifted his glance to Hudson.
"Hudson, the company is yours. When I get back, I expect to find my men ready to get back to work. Having said that, I think we both know who rightfully deserves the Ravens Ribbon in my absence."
Hudson smiled and stood up, "I couldn't agree more Johnny."
John slid me the ribbon, "Wear it proudly Blitz. You deserve it. This is goodbye my friend, for now at least."
I took John in a hug, as tightly as I could, considering it was gonna be the last one I got from him. I could feel my body start to shake again.
"Don't start crying Blitz." John chuckled petting my back, "Because if you do, I will, and then we'll never get through this."
I did kind of cry laugh at the comment, holding on just a little bit tighter. But, eventually, I did have to let him go. He took a step back.
"Listen to what Hudson tells you Blitz." John smiled, "Hudson, get used to watching his ass, you're in charge now, better not come back in twenty years and find the two of ya' slackin. Understand?"
"Sir yes sir!" Hudson and I answered at the same time.
John flashed us the peace sign as he and Anni turned to walk out with Tanner and Raren. John stopped right as they were about to walk out.
"Oh, by the way Blitz?"
"Yes sir?" I asked.
John shook his head, "Don't lose that mouse, we'll need it later."
I smiled, "I won't let it out of my sight."
John smiled, he, Anni and Raren walked through door. Just as Tanner was about to, I called after him.
"Hey Tanner?"
"Yeah?"
"Take care of my friend...will ya?"
He nodded, smiling as best as he could due to his bone mask, "I'll look after him. I promise."
Tanner crossed the threshold of the door, disappearing into blackness as the silver female shut it behind them. She came to sit back down.
"So what now?" I asked.
"That is the question. Isn't it?" Otani asked, "Your stress and fear radiates off you like a whirlwind. Too much for someone as young as you. Do tell me Angel, why are you so troubled?"
First time I had heard that name in five years...almost didn't recognize it.
"I'm scared master."
"What have you to fear?" Otani asked leaning forward, resting his head on his hands, seeming very interested in what I had to say.
"Just..."
Otani stopped me before I could continue.
"You fear facing a life of war without the only man you truly trusted. You fear how your human masters will punish you when you defy them. You fear failing your fellow dragons as you have been failed by everyone you ever trusted and cared for. You fear being killed on the battlefield, buried in a shallow grave and forgotten or worse, taken prisoner and tortured without mercy. You do not genuinely believe that you will survive without someone to guide you, because your entire life, you have lived in the dirt. Discarded like trash by your parents because they wanted a daughter, not a son. You've scrounged your entire life for any scraps of love and affection you could find. And when you finally found someone who cared, you held onto him with tooth and claw, willing to sacrifice your own life if there was a chance, however remote, that he could walk away, and you failed. And now, you don't even know if you want to live, because you are tired. You are tired of constantly having to fight to earn the respect and affection of someone, anyone. You are weary of being bullied by others like you, and you don't truly trust the men and dragons you serve with. You constantly wonder if they're willing to save you, while knowing that you would throw yourself on a grenade for them."
It was like this man had reached into my soul, collected all my baggage and laid them out for the entire room to view. I just kind of sat there in silence. I had no idea how to respond to him putting everything out there. Hudson spoke up, prompting me to look in his direction.
"Do you not trust me Blitz?" He asked, he seemed genuinely hurt.
"I...."
"Do you not trust Wyatt? Issac? Frank? Logan? Do you not think that any of us would go out of our way for you? We fuckin' love you too boy! Do you not understand why I brought you here!?"
I still couldn't answer I hung my head. I was so ashamed.
"Blitz!" Hudson's voice quivered, "Angel! Talk to me!"
"Why did you bring me here?" I finally managed to ask, 'I don't understand. I don't understand anything happening! I feel like I'm dreaming all of this!"
"It is no dream Blitz." Otani said, "Hudson brought you here to give you a chance to join the ranks of the dragons. For the same reasons John and Anni were."
"So...that must mean my times up?"
"In three weeks, you and your team will be sent on a mission to rescue another dragon. On this mission, you will be discovered by forces of the Pakistani military. A grueling battle between you will result in both, you and Tyson being killed. You will be shot several times in the chest and neck by a Pakistani soldier, and Tyson will be killed in an impact with a vehicle."
"So...why isn't Tyse here?" I asked, "he and I are in the same boat."
"This, I can't disclose, for his fate has already been sealed."
"How? He's the one who dragged me out of that fire!"
"Blitz, your friend's fate is sealed, there is nothing that can be done."
"And mine hasn't?" I asked.
"No." Otani said, "Your fate is for you to decide, here and now. You may choose to die, and continue your fate as it is written, and be free of all your suffering, or, you can choose to live, and see if from the evil you have experienced, something better may come."
I picked my next words carefully, "I suppose...you can't tell me what may come if I choose to live?"
Otani shook his head, "No. It does not work that way."
"How do you know all of this?" I asked.
"I can not reveal the source of this magic. For it will become lost forever."
I thought for a moment.
"Hudson?"
"I got your back brother, and so does all of Raven."
I turned to Master Otani, breathing deeply.
"Have you made your decision Blitz?"
"I have."
"What have you decided?"
"I want to live."
"Very well." he gestured to the silver female, "Luna, if you will. Show Blitz out please, he has something to get back to."
The silver female opened the door. Hudson walked me to it, right before I stepped through it, I turned to Hudson.
"Thank you Hudson."
Hudson smiled, "I'll be right beside ya when you wake up. Fire messed with ya, but you'll be okay. Don't worry about waking up to gunfire, we're back at Op-40's base."
I nodded, taking a deep breath before stepping through the door, falling into black nothingness.